Who will be the ace pitcher?
The South Korean baseball team, led by coach Ryu Jong-il, convened on the 23rd to conduct 2024 WBSC Premiere 12 response training at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. The first training will begin on the 24th. During the playoffs and training period, each player will be observed intensively to determine the 28 final players among the 38 players.
The South Korean team is placed in Group B along with Japan, Taiwan, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Australia and will hold the first round in Taipei, Taiwan from November 13th to 18th.
The South Korean team will play its first match against Taiwan on November 13, followed by Cuba on November 14, Japan on November 15, the Dominican Republic on November 16, and Australia on November 18. The teams compete in turn. If you enter the top 1~2 here, you can enter the super round. Because no team is easy to bully, every game must be played with a finals mentality.
But there were disadvantages before the competition started. That’s the injury news. Sadly, players who were expected to play an ace role are leaving the team. Among the 35-man reserve list announced by the KBO, the starting pitchers include KT’s Ko Young-pyo-Uhm Sang-baek, Doosan’s Kwak Bin, Samsung’s Won Tae-in, LG’s Son Ju-young, Doosan’s Choi Seung-yong, etc.
Hanwha’s Moon Dong-joo has been sidelined due to injury. In the Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC), Moon Dong-joo also played the role of a starting pitcher and seemed to be the mainstay of Korean baseball.
That changed this year. In last year’s regular season, he had 8 wins and 8 losses and an ERA of 3.72 in 23 games. Moon Dong-ju, who became the rookie king, only had 7 wins and 7 losses in 21 games this season and an ERA of 3.72. Scored 5.17. At the end of the season, he was excluded from the first-team squad due to pain in his right shoulder, and the regular season ended as such.
As a result, shoulder pain ultimately led to his failure to make the national team. In mid-October, a person related to the Hanwha team introduced Moon Dong-joo’s situation and said: “So far, he has not pitched, and he is mainly training to adjust his condition.” It is reported that the National Team Combat Strengthening Committee has been paying attention to Moon Dong-joo’s situation. In this state, it was ultimately considered difficult to enter the national team.
Lotte’s Park Se-woong was not on the reserve list due to his basic military training schedule, and Son Ju-young was absent. After the playoffs, Son Zhouying was diagnosed with a first-degree injury to the left elbow flexor and medial muscles based on MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and hospital examination results. This year’s season, he participated in a total of 28 games (144.2 innings), achieved 9 wins, 10 losses, 1 save, and an average ERA of 3.79, becoming the local ace player of the LG team. On the autumn baseball stage, except for the PO 4th game, impressive pitching content has been shown, so it is highly anticipated.
The absence of Moon Dong-joo, Son Ju-young and Park Se-woong has already dealt a big blow to the team. Won Tae-in, who is expected to become the first starting pitcher of the national team, is also injured and it is unknown whether he can participate in the game. Won Tae-in started in the fourth game of the Korea Series against KIA on the 26th, but was in poor condition as he allowed 6 hits, 3 dead balls, 2 strikeouts, and 6 runs in 2.1 innings.
Later I found out that I was throwing the ball because of discomfort in my shoulder. After the game, I went to the hospital and heard the shocking news. A Samsung official explained: “The MRI results showed damage to the joint capsule of the right shoulder,” and “there was slight bleeding and swelling in the joint, accompanied by rotator cuff tendonitis, which requires 4 to 6 weeks of recovery.”
Starting from the 4th game, his expression was not very good, so he was very worried. Samsung head coach Park Jin-man said, “It’s not so much that I feel uncomfortable, but it’s because I don’t control the ball as I want and my expression is not good.” Injury is the reason for poverty.
Who is Yuan Tairen? This season, he has a record of 15 wins and 6 losses in 28 games with 159.2 innings. After Liang Zhong (KIA Tigers) in 2017, he became the local winner again with Guo Bin after 7 years.
Also doing well on the fall baseball scene. In the second playoff game against the LG Twins, he allowed 7 hits, 2 dead balls, 3 strikeouts, and 1 run in 6.2 innings. Brought his first playoff victory since his debut. This is the first time in 3626 days since Yoon Sung-hwan won the 6th game of the Korea Series against the Kiwoom Heroes on November 11, 2014, that he became the protagonist of Samsung’s local PS first victory again. In the first game of KS, he had a scoreless pitch with 66 single balls in 5 innings. The absence of Won Tae-in, who has rich experience in international competitions and has strong ability in large-scale competitions, is sad.
According to regulations, the entry list can be added and changed before the start of this competition. Players not on the reserve list may also be included in the final list. So, does he really want to play the role of an ace player in this Asian Games? Coach Liu Zhongyi’s distress also increased.
[大邱=MK体育记者李正源]
