The Czech baseball team, which failed to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), received more applause and spotlight than any other team.
The Czech national baseball team finished the group stage with 1 win and 3 losses, losing 3 to 8 in the final game of the 2023 WBC Group B group stage against Australia held at Tokyo Dome, Japan on the afternoon of the 13th. The performance of these pure ‘amateur’ players, not professional players, was enough to surprise the world. 메이저사이트
Czech ace Martin Schneider, who started the game that day, originally worked as a firefighter and pitched in the game against Australia, where the Czech Republic’s fate depended, and fought for his life. He was responsible for 5.1 innings alone, and the only run was a solo home run hit by Alex Hall in the first inning.
Not only Schneider, but most of the Czech baseball team players have a separate ‘day job’. It consists of a variety of occupations, including traveling salesman, analyst, high school geography teacher, and real estate agent. Lucas Erkoli, who started in the game against Korea, is an employee of the PR team of the Czech Baseball Association, and manager Hadim is a neurologist. The only player with professional baseball experience is Eric Sogard, the second hitter who played for 11 years in the major leagues.
At the official press conference held after the game, coach Pavel Hadim of the Czech national team said, “I hoped our team would advance to the second round. However, the results must be accepted. We are proud of our team. We beat China, we lost to Australia, Japan and Korea, but we played well.”
The prospect of the 2026 WBC, which will be held three years later, was also revealed. Coach Pavel said, “I want to advance to the tournament and win a medal. Our young players have already been successful in Europe. I want to prepare well and take the 2026 WBC well.”