The scenario that the MLB Secretariat, the organizer of the WBC (World Baseball Classic) wanted the most, has become a reality. The ‘Super Big Event’, in which the United States and Japan face each other in the final, was concluded.
On the 21st (hereinafter Korean time), the 2023 WBC semifinals were held at Londippo Park in Miami, Florida, USA. Japan won 6-5 with a walk-off victory over Mexico in the bottom of the ninth. Frustrated in the WBC 2nd consecutive semifinal, Japan is challenging its third WBC championship since winning in 2009. The team that will face Japan is the United States. The United States defeated Venezuela 9-7 in the quarterfinals and defeated Cuba 14-2 in the semifinals. The U.S. made it to the final a day ahead of Japan.
This is the first time the two teams will ever meet in the WBC finals. They met twice in the semifinals. In 2006 and 2009, when Japan won, they met Cuba and Korea in the final respectively. In 2006, the first tournament, Japan defeated Korea 6-0 in the semi-finals and advanced to the final to win 10-6 against Cuba, winning its first championship trophy. In 2009, it beat the United States 9-4 in the semifinals and won 5-3 in the final against Korea, winning the championship twice in a row. Japan, who had fallen to Puerto Rico in the semifinals in the 2013 tournament, lost to the United States 1-2 in the semifinals in the 2017 tournament.카지노사이트
So is the US. After finishing 8th in the inaugural tournament in 2006, 4th in 2009, and 6th in 2013, the U.S. finally won its first championship in 2017. The United States, which advanced to the final by defeating Japan in the semifinals at the time, lifted its first championship trophy by defeating Puerto Rico 8-0. It is a pride match between Japan, the ‘strongest in Asia’, who is aiming for the third WBC championship, and the United States, the ‘baseball nation’, aiming for the second consecutive championship.
The final showdown between the United States and Japan is also the scenario that MLB wanted the most. The MLB secretariat used a trick to suddenly change the seed number for the semifinals of the United States during the quarterfinals. According to the initially announced schedule, the United States and Japan should have met in the semifinals, not the finals. However, the two teams faced each other in the final due to the recklessness of the MLB secretariat, which seemed to have taken into consideration various things, such as box office success and US propaganda. It was just as calculated. If the U.S. lost without a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the quarterfinal against Venezuela, and Japan failed to win the bottom of the ninth inning in the semifinal against Mexico, both teams could have been thwarted from advancing to the final. Unfortunately, however, it actually happened.
These are teams that boast the strongest members of all time. The U.S. team, including captain Mike Trout, is by far the best at batting lineup that combines speed and power. All active major leaguers are playing as starting pitchers. It was also evaluated that the mound was relatively weak compared to the other lines, but it seems that it will not be pushed too far in the bullpen confrontation as it pours an all-out battle in the final. Japan is also filled with the strongest players of all time. The lineup led by Shohei Ohtani is lined with hard hitters such as Kazuma Okamoto, Masataka Yoshida, and Munetaka Murakami. The mound is by far the first among the participating countries.
The two teams will play the 2023 WBC final at Londippo Park from 8 am on the 22nd. Which team will win the championship?