“I’ve never seen a ball like this before.” “How to hit”, “He’s a really great pitcher”.
Premier 12 in 2015. At that time, the Korean national team faced Japan’s ‘ace’ Shohei Ohtani twice. Ohtani started in the opening match against Korea and recorded 2 hits and 10 strikeouts in 6 innings, and in the semifinals, Ohtani started again and pitched well with 1 hit and 11 strikeouts in 7 innings. Korean batters hit Ohtani, but failed to score a run due to a follow-up hit, striking out 21 in 13 innings. Ohtani’s highest speed at the time was 160 km.
Ohtani was a member of the Nippon Ham Fighters at the time and was a young ace who grew up as a pitcher representing Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). All hitters of the Korean national team, who faced Ohtani, whom they had only heard about for the first time in an international tournament, were all amazed. It was because he was the pitcher of the opposing team, the Japanese national team, but his ball was fast and his pitching was so great that he had to admit it. Everyone honestly said, “I didn’t know how to hit.”
It is highly likely that Ohtani will meet again at this WBC. Ohtani has not been able to compete for the national team for various reasons since the 2015 Premier12. And he wore the national team uniform again after 8 years, and that tournament is this WBC.
It has been reported that the Japanese national team is considering Ohtani as a starting pitcher for the Korean match. On the 18th, Japan’s ‘Sponichi Annex’ said, “The plan for Ohtani to start against Korea on March 10th has emerged. If Ohtani comes out against Korea, he will be able to pitch again in the quarterfinals on March 16th.”
Japan’s goal this time is to win the WBC. Passing the first round is the first barrier, and the most difficult opponent among them is Korea. The Czech Republic, China, and Australia are relatively underdogs, but Korea is a tough opponent. Objective power is higher in Japan. However, there were difficulties in the short-term Korea-Japan match.
Eight years ago, Korean batters were embarrassed, but the situation is different at the WBC. While Ohtani was active in the major leagues, there were many opportunities to see his latest pitching in more detail. In addition, as the number of pitchers throwing balls in the second half of the 150km range in the KBO League has increased, batters’ response to fast balls has also improved compared to a few years ago. 먹튀검증
Above all, the WBC has strict pitch limit rules. In the first round of the Korea-Japan match, the number of pitches per pitcher cannot exceed 65. Even if Ohtani goes to the mound as a starting pitcher, it is difficult to digest many innings, so there is a good chance that he can aim for the second half even if he fails to attack. Since the number of pitches is a variable, not only the Korean national team but also the opposing teams are planning that the starting pitcher is not significant.
Even in the 2015 Premier12, Ohtani recorded an ERA of ‘0’ in two games, but right after he went down the mound, the bullpen collapsed, and Korea won a come-from-behind victory and I have a memory of winning the tournament. His first meeting 8 years ago and now can be quite different.