‘National team captain’ Kim Hyun-soo (LG) made 안전놀이터 a statement to some baseball players who had been bitter toward the national team.
Korean baseball suffered the pain of being eliminated in the first round for three consecutive times at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). In the first round of the WBC Group B group stage held at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, they were eliminated in the first round by finishing with 2 wins and 2 losses and 3rd place in the group. Japan took 1st place with 4 wins, and Australia took 2nd place with 3 wins and 1 loss, advancing to the second round (quarterfinals).
Still, in the last game against China on the 14th, Park Gun-woo and Kim Ha-sung scored 20 hits, including a full run, and won 22-2, 5th by a cold game. The 22 points scored by Korea is a new record for the most points scored in a single WBC game. The previous record for the most points was 18 points from the 2006 tournament Japan-China match (Japan 18-2 win) and the 2023 tournament Canada-UK match (Canada 18-8 win).
Kim Hyun-soo, who captained the national team this time, cheered for his juniors at the dugout while missing the match against China. He recorded a batting average of 0.111 (1 hit in 9 at-bats), 2 walks, 2 RBIs and 1 run in this tournament.
When I met him in the mixed zone after the match, his eyes were already red. He said, “All the players prepared well. However, it is regrettable that they did not show their skills as much as they prepared. The coach also adjusted well. I think I was lacking as a captain. I did not lead the players well and did not produce good results. I am really grateful to the juniors who did everything,” he expressed his gratitude with self-blame.
He said, “My heart hurts a lot. I tried really hard not to hear ‘I came to play.’ I think there are many better players. I think we should have created an atmosphere where we could enjoy more.”