The Korean baseball team’s 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) Quarterfinals will be the watershed for Australia. The roster for the Australian national team, which was wrapped in a veil, was announced.
On the 10th (Korean time), the WBC secretariat announced the participating players through MLB.com, the official homepage of the American professional baseball Major League (MLB).
None of the 30 finalists for Australia’s national team were revealed. Australia has built a squad mainly of players from its own league, and one of the players included in the MLB 40-man roster is outfielder Aaron Whitefield (Los Angeles Angels). Excluding Whitefield, the only player with MLB experience is Warwick Saupold (Perth, Australia), a right-handed pitcher who played for the Hanwha Eagles in the past. 바카라사이트
Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendricks was sidelined after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. MLB.com picked Whitefield and Saupold as key players in the Australian national team, but evaluated, “This Australian national team cannot be called ‘the greatest ever’.”
Korea, which belongs to Group B, announced the final roster of the national team, including coaches, early on. Korea must place in second place in Group B, which includes Australia (March 9th), Japan (10th), Czech Republic (12th) and China (13th), to qualify for the quarterfinals. It is highly likely to advance to the quarterfinals only if they defeat their first opponent, Australia.
National team coach Lee Kang-cheol visited Australia last month to watch the Australian Baseball League (ABL). Manager Lee said, “In addition to Supold, there are several good pitchers in Australia who throw fastballs in the 150km/h range. There is a high possibility that Australia will also use all of its key pitchers for the match against Korea aiming for second place in the group,” he said. “We will prepare in detail.”
The 2023 WBC kicks off with the official opening match between Cuba and the Netherlands on March 8, and the final will be held on the 22nd.