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.
Pitchers who were in charge of the national team’s mound, no abnormality as a result of the inspection
On the pitcher side, 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 made his first appearance in the demonstration game, checked his main weapon, his changeup, fastball, and slider. He displayed pitching that was literally ‘impeccable’ with a strike (33) and ball (11) ratio of exactly 3:1. 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 Hanwha Eagles at Daejeon Hanwha Life Insurance Eagles Park, he pitched as a starting pitcher and pitched well with 3 hits, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts and no runs in 3 innings.
In particular, from the end of the first inning, he used a fastball that reached 150 km/h and showed off his powerful pitch. Since it was his first exhibition game appearance after returning to his team, he did not pitch 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 one inning, no hits, one walk, one strikeout, and no runs. 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. 먹튀검증
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.