adminAnnouncement of comprehensive measures during the first half of March or November evaluation
Korean baseball, which felt a difference in level from the world at the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), plans to strengthen its competitiveness through team evaluation matches with other countries.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), which manages the professional baseball stage and operates and supports the national team, plans to announce comprehensive measures to enhance competitiveness, including regular evaluation matches with other national teams, during the first half of the year. Previously, on the 16th, KBO officially announced that “I sincerely apologize to the people and baseball fans who supported the baseball team for showing poor performance and performance at the 2023 WBC.”안전놀이터
The Korean national team suffered a 7-8 blow to Australia, which was rated one lower in the WBC, and had to accept the report card of being eliminated in the first round three times in a row, losing 4-13 to Japan. In order to avoid repeating such disastrous results any longer, the plan to vastly improve the operation and support of the national team participating in the WBC or Premier 12 is to be made.
Currently, the most promising plan is the regular national team evaluation match. In the case of Japan, which consistently manages its national team’s candidate pool, it maintains the brand of its baseball team called ‘Samurai Japan’ and holds evaluation matches every year to enhance the international competitiveness of its players, receiving great attention from baseball fans in its country. Coach Lee Kang-cheol and Lee Jung-hoo (Kiwoom Heroes) and other national team players also said after being eliminated from the WBC, “We also need to gain experience in advance by playing friendly matches with other countries on a regular basis.”
The KBO Secretariat is also planning to finalize the detailed plan for the evaluation game through systematic discussions with the officials of each club that has players, and it is likely that the regular evaluation game will be held in March or November. It is known that not only the method of inviting the opposing team for the evaluation match to Korea, but also the plan of having the national team go abroad and play an away evaluation match.
However, this year, following the Hangzhou Asian Games held in September-October, the Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) is scheduled to be held in November, in which promising players from three Asian countries will participate. In addition, the Premier 12 tournament hosted by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) is highly likely to be held next year, so it is also expected to be a variable.