One of the biggest issues for the Korean national team at the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), which is training in Tucson, Arizona, is the official ball of the tournament.
The WBC official ball made by Rawlings of the United States is the same product as the Major League Baseball (MLB) official ball. Compared to the official Korean professional baseball ball with prominent seams, the seams are lower and the surface is slippery. The reason pitchers have more difficulty is the size of the WBC official ball.바카라사이트
Veteran pitcher Lee Yong-chan (34, NC) said, “It is slightly larger than the official ball in the KBO League. That’s why he doesn’t feel well held in one hand.” It is said that it is difficult to fit in one hand, so it often slips out when using a breaking ball.
However, there is a player in the Korean baseball team who has already completed 100% adaptation to the WBC official ball. Right-handed young gun Kwak Bin (24, Doosan).
The reason Kwak Bin is not affected by the official ball compared to other players is because he is a ‘royal descendant’. At first glance, his fingers are about a knuckle bigger than other players. Kwak Bin said, “Ever since I was young, I have been called ‘the royal son’ because my hands are especially big. He has been holding a basketball with one hand since he was in high school.”
Since my hands are so big, I don’t have much difficulty holding the WBC official ball, which is larger than the KBO official ball. He said that it is not too awkward to catch the ball if the target point of the pitch is slightly different.
Kwak Bin’s extraordinary physical ability was also evident in a practice game against KIA held at the Keno Veteran’s Memorial Stadium in the Tucson Keno Sports Complex on the 20th. As in the first practice game against NC on the 17th, the game was played in such a way that the pitchers from both teams filled the set number of pitches regardless of the outcount.
At the end of the 3rd inning, Kwak Bin, who took the mound as the third pitcher of the national team, hit 3 batters in a row, starting with 4th hitter Hwang Dae-in. Kwak Bin, who faced two more batters because of the number of pitchers left, struck out Woo-hyeok Byun and Seung-taek Han in a row. He was a perfect pitcher, going 5 at-bats in 1 inning and striking out 2 hits.
He threw 10 fastballs, 1 slider, 3 changeups and 3 curveballs out of 18 total pitches. The maximum velocity of his fastball was 148 km. The main weapon changeup fell sharply toward the body of a right-handed hitter.
After the game, national team coach Lee Kang-cheol, who was a famous pitcher, said, “The MVP of today’s game is definitely Kwak Bin. He seems to have built up his body well at Doosan’s Sydney camp in Australia.” Coach Lee, who met Kwak Bin, boosted his morale by saying, “I picked you for the national team to see you like this.”
Gwak Bin, who was selected for the first adult national team in his life, said, “Every day is so fun and fun because I play baseball with players who are good at baseball. I want to get closer to all the national team players.”
He wore number 47 on his team, but changed his number to number 61 for the national team. When his uniform number overlapped with Na Seong-beom (34, KIA), he gave it up to his senior. Kwak Bin said, “I remember seeing senior Park Chan-ho (retired, 50) throwing at the 1st WBC in 2006. Number 61 is a number that symbolizes senior Park Chan-ho. He may not be as good as his seniors, but I want to do half of that in this competition.” Park Chan-ho pitched in 4 games in the 2006 WBC and pitched well with 3 saves and 10 scoreless innings.
Meanwhile, the Korean national team won 12-6, thanks to the power of the batting line, which drove in 19 hits. It is the second consecutive win following the 8-2 win against NC on the 17th. Kim Hye-seong (Kiwoom) wielded 3 hits in 3 at-bats including a triple, and Kang Baek-ho (KT), Park Gun-woo (NC), and Choi Ji-hoon (SSG) each hit 2 hits, showing off a good sense of hitting.