With certainty as a possibility Korean baseball, APBC runner-up, creates a tailwind for generational change

Korea and Japan, with only one wild card player, were close by one point in both games.

Hangzhou gold medal members march high Confirmation of mound growth potential

Korean Defeat

The match between Korea and Japan in the Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) final held at Tokyo Dome in Japan on the 19th.The Korean players are feeling disappointed after losing to Japan's Kadowaki in the bottom of the 10th inning with two outs and the bases loaded.

The Asian Professional Baseball Championship(APBC) 2023 , which competes the 'future baseball' skills of four countries - Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Australia - hasended.

Although it received less attention than the World Baseball Classic (WBC) and the Asian Games and the duration of the competition was short at only four days, the significance it left for Korean baseball was not small.

The APBC national team, led by coach Ryu Joong-il, lost 3-4 in an overtime match against Japan, the world's best, in the finals of the tournament held at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on the 19th and finished second.

Even though they failed to win consecutive championships following the Hangzhou Asian Games, it is evaluated that they have raised the possibility of a generational change in Korean baseball by several levels.

Excluding wild cards, participation in this competition was restricted to those ‘under 24 years of age or under 3 years of professional experience.’

Korea Runner-up

South Korea's manager Ryu Joong-il, who took second place, and KBO President Heo Heo-yeon are taking a commemorative photo at the Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) awards ceremony held at Tokyo Dome in Japan on the 19th.

Korea, whose emergency lights were turned on after being eliminated in the first round of the WBC for three consecutive times, gained confidence that it can close the gap on the international stage with a gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games and a runner-up finish in the APBC.

In particular, it is encouraging that, unlike the Hangzhou Asian Games, they pressured Japan, which was heavily armed with professional league prospects, by one point.

Korea lost 1-2 to Japan in the second round of the preliminary round, and unfortunately lost 3-4 in the final, which was the return match, after a fierce overtime struggle.

Additionally, Japan, Taiwan, and Australia used all three wild cards (under 29 years old), while Korea brought in only outfielder Choi Ji-hoon (26, SSG Landers).

Japanese starting pitcher Tatsuya Imai, starting pitcher Shogo Sakakura, and closer Kazuto Taguchi, who played in the final against Korea, are all wild card players.

Even though Korea minimized the use of wild cards to allow young players to gain international experience, they competed fiercely for the championship without falling behind in terms of power. 19가이드03