“For the sake of time, I’ll take the last question.”
6th Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan. As the Korean national team’s official press conference was nearing its end, a Japanese reporter raised his hand.
He asked for two answers, saying, “I will ask director Lee Kang-cheol a question.” The first question was, “Ha-sung Kim’s main position is shortstop, but he started as a third baseman. I think it’s good to start in the position he’s been holding from the beginning. What was the intention of changing to third baseman?”
On this day, the Korean World Baseball Classic (WBC) team knelt down 2-4 in an official evaluation match against the Orix Buffaloes.
The national team, which failed to pick up a single point until the 8th inning, was able to avoid humiliation by making up for 2 points in the top of the 9th inning, which was trailing 0-4.
In Korea, Tommy Hyeonsu Edman (second baseman) and Kim Ha-seong (third baseman) formed the table setter. As the Japanese reporter said, Ha-seong Kim’s main position is shortstop. However, there was a reason why Kim Ha-seong had no choice but to play as a third baseman, and it was because Choi Jeong-ui was not yet in perfect condition. In addition, Kim Ha-sung played as a third baseman for his team, the San Diego Padres, and showed stable performance. Again, the best scenario would be for Korea to have Choi Jeong in charge of the hot corner and Kim Ha-seong and Edmon to build a keystone combination. Fortunately, Choi Jeong-eun was replaced from the defense in the bottom of the 6th inning, leaving open the possibility of a regular appearance in the future. In response to the Japanese reporter’s question, coach Lee said, “Choi Jeong couldn’t start, so Ha-seong Kim first played as a third baseman.”
Oh Ji-hwan, who naturally established himself as the best shortstop in the KBO League while Ha-seong Kim took third base, played as the starting shortstop. Coincidentally, however, Oh Ji-hwan made two consecutive mistakes in the bottom of the second inning and bowed his head. On this day, Choi Jeong’s injury caused the butterfly effect. Rather, even Kim Ha-seong made a catch mistake as soon as he moved his position to shortstop in the 6th inning instead of third base.
The question in question came up again. The Japanese reporter commented, “The Orix players were not the main players, but the second team or lower level players,” and then asked, “But what do you think about losing against these players?” The situation in front of the fateful Korea-Japan match. He had previously questioned the appointment of players, which is the manager’s inherent authority. It was a scene that could be read as an intentional provocative question directed at the Japanese reporter’s command tower. 메이저놀이터
Regarding this, coach Lee said, “If a pitcher throws well against any team, no matter how second-team, baseball can win the game.” Manager Lee said, “The WBC is also a short-term game. Baseball is losing if any pitcher fails to target the pitcher and fails to score. The opposing pitchers were good. I think we will win,” he stressed.
Although the game was given up and Go Woo-seok went down the mound complaining of neck muscle pain, it was an evaluation game in which he was properly vaccinated. Rather, suffering such a defeat in a mock test can act as an opportunity to wake up even more. Coach Lee also evaluated positively, saying, “The pitchers’ condition has improved a lot. The hitters also hit a lot, but the timing was good. It was also good that they showed concentration at the end.”
Now, on the 7th, at 12:00 noon, Korea will play an evaluation match against the Hanshin Tigers. After the game, the national team, which will move to Tokyo, will play its first match against Australia on the 9th after training on the 8th.