Frog in the Well’. There are no words that can more accurately describe the current state of Korean baseball.
The Korean baseball team was defeated 4-13 in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) Group B group stage against Japan held at Tokyo Dome, Japan on the 10th. Following the shocking 7-8 come-from-behind loss against Australia on the 9th, the first match, they recorded two consecutive losses against Korea and Japan with a lethargic performance of throwing 9 sand dunes, putting them in danger of being eliminated early.
Legendary commentators who commented on the Korea-Japan match criticized the reality of Korean baseball, saying that it was a ‘frog in the well’. SBS commentator Lee Soon-cheol said, “The coaches and players have to be aware. If you do this, you will have no choice but to become a frog in the well.” It’s devastating. My pride in baseball collapsed terribly,” he pointed out.
KBS commentator Park Yong-taek said, “A lot of frogs in the well say that, but watching this WBC game, those things seem to have been proven. In the end, our pitchers’ pitch and control are at a lower level than before, so batters are also staying at that level. So, when we came out to international competitions, we met pitchers of a level we had never seen before, and hitters couldn’t show their abilities,” he said. Difficult situations have been happening lately,” he said bitterly.
Choo Shin-soo, who was at the center of controversy for his convictions before the WBC tournament, also pointed out the narrow outlook of Korean baseball players. Choo Shin-soo said, “In the case of the United States, no matter how good you are at baseball here, there is another player like me even if you go 5 to 10 minutes. If you go 30 minutes, there are 3 to 4 more people. There are many amazing people.” When he comes, he knows he’s really good at baseball. It’s a little uncomfortable when he sees that,” he said honestly.
Apparently, Korean baseball was also competitive in the world at one time. The Korean national baseball team, which enjoyed a golden age from the 2006 WBC semifinals, the 2008 Beijing Olympics all-time victory, and the 2009 WBC runner-up, had the confidence that its elite members would work well enough on the international stage even if they were a little behind in the league level.
However, while he was drunk with confidence, the difference in ability with baseball powerhouses was slowly widening. In the WBC tournaments held in 2013 and 2017, he tasted the humiliation of being eliminated in the first round in a row. However, it may have been hard to deny the reality, saying ‘Taichung Disaster’ and ‘Gocheok Dome Disaster’ every time. 카지노
In sports, the expression ‘disaster’ is usually used when you suffer an unexpected and shocking defeat. The expression ‘disaster’ is no longer appropriate for the performance of the Korean national team, which was shown through the matches against Australia and Japan in this tournament. The gap with Japan has already widened as noticeably as the score difference of 4-13. Australia, which was considered a baseball periphery, is showing good performance enough to beat China with a 10-point cold game in the 7th inning following a come-from-behind victory against Korea. The defeat, which was considered a ‘disaster’ from the previous tournament, can be seen as a predictable defeat for Korean baseball, which was at a standstill.
Just as a mistake becomes a skill if it is repeated many times, a disaster is no longer a disaster if it is repeated. That is skill and the current state of Korean baseball. With the failure of this WBC tournament, attention is focusing on whether Korean baseball can face the reality of the frog in the well and prepare a turning point.