The fateful Korea-Japan match is approaching. Korea, thirsty for one win, is a match that must be resolved to win.
The Korean baseball team, led by coach Lee Kang-cheol, will play against Japan in Group B in the first round of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) held at Tokyo Dome, Japan at 7 pm on the 10th.
As Korea suffered a shocking 7-8 defeat against Australia on the 9th, the first game of the tournament, the victory against Japan became all the more desperate. However, as Japan aims to win this tournament, it has formed a ‘previous lineup’ such as Shohei Otani (LA Angels), Yu Darvish (San Diego), Las Nutba (St. Louis), and Munetaka Murakami (Yakult). Will Korea be able to succeed in reversing the atmosphere by holding on to Japan?
In the past, when Korea conquered Japan, there was a clear ‘Japanese killer’. Goo Dae-seong, who was nicknamed the ‘Daeseong Undefeated’, is a typical example of a player who can be called the ‘Japanese killer’.
In the bronze medal match at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Korea beat Japan 3-1 and wrote a new history by winning the first ever Olympic medal. Korea’s starting pitcher is Koo Dae-sung. Dae-sung Koo faced off against “monster pitcher” Daisuke Matsuzaka, throwing as many as 155 pitches in 9 innings and striking out 11, putting Japanese hitters at a standstill.
In the first round of the 2006 WBC, which is considered one of the most dramatic matches between Korea and Japan, a 3-2 victory would have been impossible without Koo Dae-sung’s good pitch. Koo Dae-seong, who appeared from first base unscathed at the end of the 7th inning, stopped Japan from scoring by striking out 1. Even after Lee Seung-yeop’s two-run gun in the top of the 8th inning succeeded in a 3-2 comeback, the bottom of the 8th inning was also blocked by a scoreless run, reaffirming his reputation as a “Japanese killer”. did. In this game too, the winning pitcher was Koo Dae-seong.
Korea advanced to the semi-finals with a crushing blow, and met Japan once again, but eventually lost 0-6 and bowed its head. At this time, Koo Dae-sung’s absence was cited as one of Korea’s defeats. Koo Dae-seong was unable to pitch due to a side injury.
Although Korea failed to advance to the finals in the 2006 WBC, in the 2009 WBC it caused a stir, and it would have been impossible without Bong Joong-geun, a new ‘Japanese killer’.
Korea met Japan in the first round and suffered the humiliation of being defeated by a cold game 2-14 in the 7th inning, but succeeded in taking first place in the group by beating Japan 1-0, which they met again in the ranking match. At that time, Korea’s starting pitcher was Bong Joong-geun, and Bong Joong-geun was at the forefront of defeating Japan by pitching 5⅓ innings without conceding a run. It wasn’t just this. Against Japan, whom he met again in the second round, he fought back with 1 run in 5⅓ innings and fully established himself as a ‘Japanese killer’. 메이저사이트
Unfortunately, it is true that the current Korean national team does not have a ‘Japanese killer’ comparable to Koo Dae-sung and Bong Joong-geun. The starting pitcher for the match against Japan on the 10th announced by Korea is Kim Gwang-hyeon. Kim Kwang-Hyun quickly emerged as a ‘Japanese killer’ by conceding 1 run in 5⅓ innings in the 2008 Beijing Olympics preliminaries and 2 runs in 8 innings in the semi-finals, but in the 2009 WBC, he was beaten with 8 runs in 1⅓ innings.
Korea chose ‘experience’ instead of ‘surprise card’. Since Kim Gwang-hyun had experience in fighting Japan in the past, Korea had no choice. Even if Kim Gwang-hyun leads the early atmosphere, there is a limit on the number of pitches, so someone has to take the baton, but attention is focused on whether a new Japanese killer can emerge. Now is the time for a successor to come out who will carry on the genealogy of ‘Daesung Undefeated’ and ‘Bong-eui-sa’.