What if only Australia had won? No, I should have won. It is a result that has no choice but to remain as ‘one’. As predicted by coach Lee Kang-cheol and the national team players, the match against Australia decided the fate.
The baseball team was eliminated in the first round of the 2023 WBC (World Baseball Classic). The tickets to the quarterfinals, which were given only to the second place in Group B, were taken by Japan, which ranked first in Group B, and Australia, which placed second.
The focus of the national team was the match against Australia. Group B consists of 5 teams from Korea, Japan, Australia, Czech Republic and China. Among them, Japan is powerful enough to aim for the championship. There is no ‘unconditional’ in baseball, but from the beginning, Japan’s power was so strong that it was inevitable to expect first place in the group.스포츠토토
Then, the least position the Korean national team can aim for is second place in the group. To do so, it was essential to be wary of Australia, which is relatively stronger than the Czech Republic and China. Australia made its entry for this tournament mostly with players from the American Minor League and Australian Professional Baseball (ABL). Except for Aaron Whitefield of the Los Angeles Angels, there are no players on the 40-man roster. This is because players playing in the big leagues could not participate due to health problems or opposition from the team.
That’s why I shouted all-in against Australia, but the aftermath of losing 7-8 to Australia in the first game was too great. As Korea failed to target the Australian starting pitcher and second pitcher, they were unable to score a single point until the 4th inning, and lost the first run and played a chased game. The game turned over to 4-2 in the middle of the game, but the bullpen collapsed in the second half. In the end, it was a one-point defeat.
The defeat against Australia held the national team’s back until the end. Except for Korea’s loss to Australia, the results of the rest of the group stage went almost as expected. In the end, Korea was eliminated from the quarterfinals due to the defeat against Australia.
Now all these assumptions are useless. The Korean national team should prepare for: Every international competition held in recent years has a jinx of losing the first match or struggling. Regardless of whether the opponent was a weak team or a strong team, the battle continued. The ‘classics’ mentioned here mean that the players cannot properly show their original performance. It means that my condition came up late and I was overly nervous.
The conditions for international competitions are equal for all other participating countries. In particular, the fact that the Korean national team got it wrong from the first button requires a different strategy. Although there is an age limit, Korea has scheduled international competitions leading to the Hangzhou Asian Games and APBC this year. As young players in their early 20s play a central role, we need to show a different side of ourselves