The baseball team participating in the 5th World Baseball Classic (WBC) finally took to the ground wearing new uniforms. From the start, he showed a strong will to overcome his rival Japan.
On the 16th, the baseball team led by coach Lee Kang-cheol held their first training session at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona. Of the 30 finalists, 28 players, excluding major leaguers Kim Ha-seong (San Diego) and Tommy Edman (St. Louis), gathered and stepped on the ground together for the first time.
Arizona, which is considered a popular campground for its good stadium facilities and warm weather, has been experiencing a cold spell for the past few days. The sun was hot, but a cold wind blew, and especially the night before, it snowed with hailstones, piled up on top of the car. However, the motivation and determination of the players on the ground are hot.
They may be cautious from their first match against Australia on March 9, but the players are already preparing for the match against Korea and Japan on March 10. The ambush game against Australia can be overcome with thorough preparation, but Japan, which has a special relationship with Korea and is a ‘champion candidate’, is determined from the start as it is difficult to win without the players’ mindset and mental strength. From the first day they stepped on the ground wearing uniforms with ‘KOREA’ written on them, the players pledged to ‘take revenge’.
Koo Chang-mo (26, NC) is considered the first to succeed the left-handed ace genealogy that Kim Gwang-hyun (SSG) and Yang Hyeon-jong (KIA) have long maintained. Since Korea strategically won the game against Japan in the past by using a left-hander, the possibility of Chang-mo Koo appearing against Japan in this tournament is also quite high. Gu Chang-mo’s attitude is fierce.
After the national team’s first training session that day, Koo Chang-mo recalled a memory from six years ago, saying, “It’s not decided yet, but if I go to the Korea-Japan match, I’ll win unconditionally.”
Koo Chang-mo participated in the 2017 Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) held in Tokyo Dome, Japan. In the newly launched tournament at the time, young pitcher Koo Chang-mo, who was in his second year, made a relief mound in the 6th inning of the opening game against Japan and hit a home run. He got first batter Kensuke Kondo on base with a hit and allowed a two-run home run to Yamakawa Hotaka (Seibu) to be rammed in a situation where he was chased 4-3. In the end, the national team lost 7-8 after overtime. It was Koo Chang-mo’s national team debut.
Gu Chang-mo said, “I have bad memories in Japan. When I go out, I really want to apologize,” he said. “At that time, a player named Yamakawa hit a home run. He emphasized, “I want to take revenge when I meet that player because he is going to the mound against Japan.” 온라인바카라
Veteran national representative Yang Eui-ji (36, Doosan) also mentioned the match against Japan first.
Yang Eui-ji said, “I think of this Taegeuk mark as the last. He holds in his heart the memories of being hit hard twice by Japan. I want to lead my younger siblings well and pay them back.”
Yang Eui-ji, the national team’s regular catcher, is also a central player who has experienced the joys and sorrows of the national team in recent international competitions. After winning gold medals at the Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang in 2018, Korea held a series of bitter memories by winning runner-up in the Premier 12 in 2019 and failing to win medals at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. The defeat in the war against Japan is in it.
In the Premier 12, they faced Japan in the final. After leading 3-1, Yang Hyeon-jong (KIA) hit a 3-run home run on the left and allowed a turnaround, losing 3-5 and giving up the championship. At the Tokyo Olympics, the winners met Japan in the semifinals. In the bottom of the 8th inning, where the score was 2-2, Ko Woo-seok (LG) was hit with a sweeping double and gave up 3 runs, losing 2-5. The player who delivered these two painful punches to Korea was Yamada Tetsuto (Yakult).
Yang Eui-ji said, “I am preparing for the Japanese war. Yesterday (the first day of the training camp) I received a video on my tablet and watched it once. In the game against Japan, Yamada continued to receive decisive blows. He is a player to be wary of,” he said, pledging to take revenge.