Conditions come up quickly after joining the team… The opening of the season is over.
One of the stories that must come out after the World Baseball Classic (WBC) is over is ‘aftereffects’. While there are players struggling after the tournament this year, there are also players who have dispelled concerns.
The players who arrived through Incheon International Airport on the 14th immediately returned to their teams and started the regular season. Some players, such as Kim Hye-seong (Kiwoom Heroes), are so determined to get rid of their regrets in the league that they went to the stadium the next day.
As for the pitchers who were in charge of the national team’s mound, as a result of the inspection,
Won Tae-in (Samsung Lions) stands out the most. He took the mound as the second pitcher after starter Jang Pil-joon in the away game against Kiwoom Heroes in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO demonstration game held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the afternoon of the 23rd, and played a good fight with 4 innings, 5 strikeouts and no runs. He did not give up a single hit or walk.
Won Tae-in, who had his first appearance in the demonstration game, checked his main weapon, the changeup, fastball, and slider that day. The ratio of strikes (33) and balls (11) is exactly 3:1, literally showing ‘flawless’ pitching. Thanks to that, the team also won 6-5 that day.
The next day, another key pitcher of the national team, Kwak Bin (Doosan Bears), took the mound. On the afternoon of the 24th, in an away game against the Hanwha Eagles at Daejeon Hanwha Life Insurance Eagles Park, he appeared as a starting pitcher and promoted with no hits, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts, and no runs in 3 innings.안전놀이터
In particular, from the end of the first inning, he used a fastball approaching 150 km / h and showed off his powerful pitch. Since it was his first demonstration game after returning to his team, he did not play many innings. He threw 47 pitches and passed the mound to Choi Seung-yong.
Jeong Cheol-won (Doosan), who took on the dirty work on the mound for the national team, took the mound as the fifth pitcher in the same game and recorded no runs in 1 inning, no hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout. It was a two-game scoreless game in a row following the previous appearance against kt Wiz on the 21st (2 hits, no runs in one inning).
Kang Baek-ho, Park Kun-woo… Hitters with good sense continue to rise
The flow of hitters is similar. In the match against Samsung on the 24th, he went 0-hit in 3 at-bats, but Lee Jeong-hoo (Kiwoom)’s performance in the demonstration game was 6 hits in 15 at-bats, a batting average of 0.400, 2 homers, 7 RBIs, 1 steal and 4 runs, showing off his hot hitting feeling.
Kang Baek-ho (kt) is also picking up the pace. After recording 3 hits in 3 at-bats in two consecutive matches against Doosan on the 20th and 21st, he recorded 2 hits and 2 RBIs in 3 at-bats including a home run against the LG Twins on the 24th. Kang Baek-ho, who hit his first home run in his demonstration game, also skillfully defended left field.
Park Kun-woo (NC Dinos), who was the only right-handed outfield resource for the national team, also tried his hand. In the home game against Lotte on the 24th, he started as a third hitter and right fielder, and showed multi-hit activity in 6 days after the SSG Landers match on the 18th with 2 hits in 4 at-bats (1 home run), 1 RBI and 2 runs.
On the other hand, players who have not played yet or who have not lived up to expectations seem to need time. Not only pitchers such as Koo Chang-mo (NC) and Jung Woo-young (LG), who showed disappointing appearances in the national team, but also some fielders are struggling.
With only 8 days left until the start of the regular season, it is time for each team to complete the last piece of the puzzle. It remains to be seen how much the variable called ‘WBC sequelae’ will affect the ranking competition at the beginning of the season.