The Korean baseball team was eliminated in the first round of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the third time in a row. Not once or twice, it’s already the third time. It’s humiliating. The problem is the upcoming international competition.
The Korean baseball team, led by coach Lee Kang-cheol, suffered a miserable failure at the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC). In the final Group B match on the 13th, China was beaten 22-2, 5th inning by a cold game, but it was a victory that only hurt. Korea, which ranked third in the group with 2 wins and 2 losses, suffered the humiliation of being eliminated in the first round three times in a row following the 2013 and 2017 tournaments.
This WBC remains as a tournament that only confirmed the gap with world baseball. There was not even a change of generation, let alone grades.
The nightmare began when they suffered a 7-8 shock loss in the first game against Australia, which they had to win. Then, in the match against Japan, the rival of destiny, he was humiliated by 4-13. They won their first win (7-3) against the ‘semi-pro’ Czech Republic, but even this was not clean. The mound shook again and gave up three runs.
It is a report card that is difficult to be called a baseball powerhouse anymore.
Korean baseball, which has confirmed its shabby current situation, needs reflection and desperate reform. But it doesn’t seem like it will be fixed quickly.
The problem is: There was an emergency in preparation for the Hangzhou Asian Games (AG), which will be held in September this year, and the Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) in November.
Both competitions have age restrictions. In the case of this Asian Games, the national team consists of players under the age of 25 (born in 1998 or later) or under the age of 4 years as a pro, and players under the age of 24 participate in the APBC. In other words, young players in their early and mid-20s who will be responsible for the future of Korean baseball will form the main axis. It is expected that it will be a tournament where you can get a glimpse of the trend of the generational change of the national team.
Korea is in the midst of winning three Asian Games in a row, including Guangzhou in 2010, Incheon in 2014, and Jakarta-Palembang in 2018, but looking at the Tokyo Olympics and WBC, it cannot be guaranteed that it will succeed in winning four Asian Games in a row.
The WBC disaster confirmed the failure of the generational shift. In a situation where the disastrous reality of Korean baseball has been revealed, the success of the next two tournaments cannot be guaranteed.토토사이트 Moreover, the power of countries that were considered weak has also increased. Participation in both the Asian Games and APBC is limited to Asia, but Korea’s competitiveness is not very strong.
The Asian Games and APBC are coming right away, with no time to wash away the shock of the WBC tragedy. Therefore, faster and more thorough preparation was required than before.
[Korea is greeting after winning a 22-2 5th cold game victory in the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) game between Korea and China held at Tokyo Dome, Japan on the afternoon of the 13th.