The match against Australia (9th) is the most important for the Korean national baseball team to pass the first round of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March. The overall flow of the tournament can move according to the game against Japan the next day (10th).

Japan’s WBC preparations, which are ahead of Korea’s in terms of power, seem meticulous. In line with the tournament, which starts in early March, pitchers are building their bodies at a speedy pace.

On the 9th, Chiba Lotte right-hander Roki Sasaki, one of the starting pitchers for the national team, threw a fast ball at 160 km per hour in an open live pitching, confirming that his body condition was already approaching normal pace, and on the 12th, the youngest pitcher of the national team, Chunichi right-hander, Hiroto Takahashi (21) took the mound in a practice game with Samsung held at Chatan Stadium in Okinawa, Japan, and pitched 41 pitches in 3 innings, giving up 1 hit and 4 strikeouts.

It is noteworthy that all of them threw balls that were not significantly different from last year’s average with the WBC official ball. While taking 154 km with the highest speed, Takahashi also properly dropped his main weapon, the splitter. According to ‘Chunichi Sports’, Takahashi scored 3 strikeouts against Samsung hitters by using a splitter as a deciding ball. 메이저놀이터

Chunichi coach Kazuyoshi Tatsunami also suggested that Takahashi’s preparations for the tournament were going smoothly, saying, “Overall, the pitching balance is close to last year’s season.” Takahashi, who debuted on the first team stage last year and recorded an average ERA of 2.47 with 6 wins and 7 losses, is highly likely to be appointed as a long relief pitcher following the start of this tournament.

In addition to Japanese national team coach Hideki Kuriyama, Korean national team coach Lee Kang-cheol has also delivered instructions to speed up training from their team’s camp in line with preparations for the tournament in early March.

Korea will start their spring camp in Arizona on the 16th, and Japan will start their spring camp on the 17th in Miyazaki, Japan. Around this time, the coaches and coaches of the national teams of the two countries requested that the pitchers be ready to go into action right away. Currently, it seems that Japanese pitchers are joining the game very quickly.