Will Japan’s strategy for attacking Korean batsmen be a left-handed pitcher?

Ahead of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) to be held next month, the face-to-face match between Japan and Korea, which belong to the same Group B, is emerging as a big concern. Rumor has it that tickets for the Korea-Japan game, which will be held on the 10th of next month at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, are already being traded at around 1 million won. As much as that, the fans’ interest is also focused on each other’s ‘old enemy’.

‘Sports Navi’, a Japanese sports site, analyzed the power of WBC participating countries to face Japan, and on the 6th, it dealt with Korea. The above site said, “The center of the Korean pitching staff are two veterans, Kim Gwang-hyun and Yang Hyeon-jong. They are the pitchers who stopped Japan at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and are still showing off their health. They were also selected,” he said.

“As a relief pitcher, Ko Woo-seok’s finisher is likely to be used. As he became a losing pitcher against Japan in the semi-finals of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, it seems that he will have a different mindset for this tournament. In addition, there are many fast ball pitchers such as Jung Woo-young and Jeong Cheol-won. With a sidearm that throws a 150km fastball, it is reminiscent of Lim Chang-yong, who played at Yakult,” he explained.

In addition, “Korea has a fielding major leaguer. In particular, second base and shortstop, which are the core of the defense, are expected to become a major league combination. Korean-American Tommy Edman and last year’s Gold Glove shortstop Ha-seong Kim are defending. It is one of the best defenses among the teams participating in 온라인카지노. The player who is receiving the most attention here is Lee Jung-hoo, who announced his intention to challenge the major leagues after the season. Park Byung-ho and Kim Hyun-soo have major league experience. Lee Jung-hoo’s tight batting line is strong and at the same time Park Hae-min. And fast players such as Kim Hye-seong are also lined up, so the balance is in place.”

One of the weak points of the Korean team is the left-handed pitcher. The site said, “There is a lack of fast ball lefties in the KBO League. There are few lefties in this tournament as well. The fast balls of the Japanese national team lefties will be difficult for Korean batters to attack. He recorded 0.379 (season batting average 0.349), but after moving to Hanshin in 2021, he struggled with 0.148 (season 0.217) against lefties. Even Lee Jung-hoo only had no hits in 12 at-bats against lefties at the Tokyo Olympics.

Lastly, “There are many left-handed pitchers who can throw 150 km in the Japanese national team, such as Shota Imana, Yuki Matsui, and Keiji Takahashi, so they are expected to demonstrate their strengths against the Korean national team. There are many right-handed pitchers as starting pitchers, but the use of lefties in the system is the key.” added.