It is not an atmosphere of course to win or semi-finals in objective power. However, it is a trend that Korea is sufficiently recognized as a ‘dark horse’ in terms of overall power. The fateful Korea-Japan match to be held on the 10th is the best matchup in the first round recognized by everyone.
North American sports media ‘The Athletic’ selected and announced the power rankings on the 9th (Korean time) to celebrate the opening of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC). Although it is slightly different for each media, Korea is evaluated as 7th to 10th out of a total of 20 teams, and ‘The Athletic’ also placed Korea in 8th place.
There was no disagreement among the ‘Big 3’ of the Dominican Republic (1st), Japan (2nd) and the United States (3rd), and Puerto Rico came in 4th. It was followed by Venezuela, Mexico, the Netherlands and South Korea. Among the teams in Group B, Japan and Korea ranked first and second, followed by Australia at 16th, Czech Republic at 19th, and China at the bottom of the table at 20th. In any case, there was no disagreement that Japan and Korea would compete for the No. 1 spot in Group B.
The ranking is 8th, but the potential is highly evaluated. ‘The Athletic’ paid attention to the center line, saying ‘at least Korea has a roster core that can give them a chance to go to the semifinals’. Yang Eui-ji is the best catcher who has won five Golden Gloves in the KBO League, Kim Ha-seong and Tommy Edman are in the center infield, and Lee Jung-hoo, the best hitter in the KBO league, is in center field. Finisher Ko Woo-seok was also selected as a player to watch out for.
‘The Athletic’ said, ‘At the beginning of the WBC, Korea was the dominant team. In 2006, they were third, and in 2009 they were runners-up. ‘In the last two WBCs, they have fallen to 9th and 10th,’ he pointed out.
“In Group B in Tokyo, Korea will once again face rival Japan, which will be the best matchup in the first round. The result won’t guarantee or spoil anything for either team, but it will set the tone for the tournament.’ No matter which team wins or loses, it is difficult to predict elimination in the first round, and the prospect is that both teams will advance to the second round anyway. At the same time, he predicted that if he advances to the quarterfinals, there is a possibility of going to Miami.바카라사이트
The Korean national team, led by head coach Lee Kang-cheol, will begin the WBC schedule with the first match in Group B against Australia at 12:00 pm on the 9th. Korea is ahead in terms of objective power, but it is forbidden to be careless. Korea lost to the Netherlands in the first round of the 2013 tournament, and suffered a shock defeat to Israel in 2017, eventually experiencing the misfortune of being eliminated from the preliminary round.
A significant part of Australia’s power is shrouded in a veil, and since Korea bears the burden, thorough preparation and careful game management are required. It can be said that the most important thing and the biggest challenge of this tournament is how the mound led by starter Koh Young-pyo and the batting line centered on Lee Jung-hoo create the flow at the beginning of the game.