Actually, the hitters are also of quite high standard.”
The Asian Games baseball team, led by coach Ryu Joong-il, will depart for Hangzhou, China, the land of the decisive battle, through Incheon International Airport on the 28th. The national team completed its last domestic training at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the afternoon of the 27th, a day before.
At this event, director Ryu Joong-il left his candidacy. Coach Ryu expressed his determination, saying, “It looks like preparations are complete. The pitchers and fielders are all in good condition. Our coaching staff and players will work as a ‘team’ to win the gold medal.”스포츠토토
The first mountain to climb is Taiwan. It is expected that the baseball event at this Asian Games will be a battle between three countries: Korea, Taiwan, and Japan. However, Taiwan is the first opponent Korea will face in the first round. Since Korea and Taiwan are both in Group B, they will face each other quickly. Starting with the match against Hong Kong on October 1st, the match against Chinese Taipei on the 2nd, and the first round against teams that passed the preliminaries on the 3rd, the next super round is promised. First of all, they only need to place in the top 2 of their group in the first round, but they are expected to face Japan once in the super round.
In particular, the national team is determined to defeat Taiwan in order to control the momentum in the early stages. Even in the WBC held last March, everything went wrong as they were unable to defeat Australia, which was their first goal.
The starting pitchers for the match against Taiwan are also being chosen very carefully. Director Ryu Joong-il quietly revealed his plans. Director Ryu said, “I’m thinking about it. I’m thinking about it, but if I could give you a tip, it’s either Kwak Bin or Moon Dong-ju. You have to choose one of them.”
One of the KBO League’s top starting agents, Kwak Bin and Moon Dong-ju, who throw fast balls, is expected to take on the key role of starting against Taiwan. The reason the national team is worried until the end is to find a pitcher who can more easily overcome Taiwanese batters.
Manager Ryu Joong-il explained, “I am thinking about Kwak Bin’s pitching trajectory, Moon Dong-ju’s pitching trajectory, and the swing trajectory of Taiwanese batters. I am thinking about which of the two will be worse (for the bat).”
The biggest reason the Korean national team is wary of Taiwan is because it includes four promising pitchers of the U.S. minor league level, but in fact, the batting lineup is not easy. Among the fielders, there are minor leaguers, and the young hitters playing in Taiwanese professional baseball are also evaluated as having excellent skills. Manager Ryu Joong-il expressed his concerns, saying, “We are focusing on pitching power, but Taiwan’s batting lineup is not easy. There are many good hitters.”
We must win the game against Taiwan on October 2nd. There is no choice but to be careful in selecting starting pitchers and placing the batting order. The day of the decisive battle is less than a week away. The national team is using failure as a textbook to find the right answer.