Korean baseball is in crisis. In the first round of Group B of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), it recorded two wins and two losses, ranking third in the group. It failed to advance to the second round, where the quarterfinals were competing, and had to return home early in a bundle. It was eliminated from the first round for the third time in a row following the 2013 and 2017 WBC.
Korean baseball succeeded in advancing to the semifinals at the first WBC tournament in 2006 and won the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, while Korean baseball, which was runner-up at the 2009 WBC, has been in a slump on the world stage for 10 years.There are many reasons why the Korean baseball team lost at 2023WBC.
Above all, the problem was the weak mound without a reliable ace pitcher.The Korean national baseball team scored seven points in the first round of the WBC finals against Australia at the Tokyo Dome on March 9, but lost after giving up eight points. Despite putting as many as seven pitchers in the match against Australia, which was a watershed for advancing to the quarterfinals, they failed to beat Australia’s bat, which was considered one step below. In the second game against Japan on March 10, even after scoring three points first, the pitching staff fell into a row and lost 4-13. Team Korea also conceded three points in Game 3 against the ‘weak’ Czech Republic, which consists of amateur players. Korean baseball performed well in international competitions when the national team’s pitching power was strong.
The sweetness of success that led to the 2006 WBC, which succeeded in advancing to the semifinals, the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which won the gold medal, and the 2009 WBC runner-up was based on a solid mound. Major pitchers such as Bong Joong-geun, Jung Hyun-wook, Ryu Hyun-jin and Kim Kwang-hyun proved the strong side of Korean baseball with special ace-like pitching in every important game. The first reason why Team Korea was eliminated in the first round at 2023WBC was that there was no entirely reliable ace following the collapse of the 2017 WBC, where Kim Kwang-hyun and others were absent due to injuries. In the process of preparing for the 2023 WBC, the Korean national team made a wrong decision as a result. They set up a camp in Arizona, the U.S., where there is a 17 hour time difference from Tokyo, Japan, where the first round will be held. KT Wiz, the KBO League team of national team manager Lee Kang-chul, is training there, so they could play the role of the national team coach and his team coach together. However, the two-week off-season training in Arizona was ruined due to bad weather conditions in the region. Above all, pitchers failed to pitch properly. There was a rare scene in which pitchers went on pitching training all at once on a sunny day because there were no indoor pitching training facilities in the local camp. Even when returning home from off-season training, the plane was unable to fly due to weather problems, forcing it to travel 530 miles (about 850 kilometers) from Tucson, Arizona, by bus for eight hours. He played the first round in Tokyo without having to adjust his condition due to fatigue and jet lag caused by long-distance travel, so he couldn’t be better. Manager Lee Kang-chul and KBO are responsible for the mistake in selecting the off-season training site. When the Korean national baseball team returned home via Incheon International Airport on March 14, few fans came out. they was worried about throwing eggs or swearing, but it was quiet.The return of the national team, which had no criticism or encouragement, reflected the cold hearts of baseball fans. Criticism also comes with affection and interest. Indifference will be the biggest crisis facing Korean baseball.
Doug Hwang
Staff Writer
