One of the main variables of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) to be held next month is the official ball. An official ball with a different feeling from the ball used in the KBO League is used in this tournament.
The biggest difference is, of course, ‘slippery’. Most of the pitchers wearing the Taegeuk mark said, “It is definitely more slippery than the 바카라사이트KBO league official ball. It feels like it slips out of my hand,” he said in unison.
Here lies the difference between stitches. The WBC official ball produced by Rawlings does not stand out more than the KBO League official ball. This is a sensitive part for pitchers, for whom the power to pick up seams is important.
To this end, the national team pitchers took over the WBC official ball from the KBO early on and began to adapt. Players who have been in individual training since last month learned how to play catch with this ball. “The ball itself is slippery,” said left-handed pitcher Koo Chang-mo. Still, as I continued to practice, I got used to it a lot,” he said.
Adaptation to the official ball is also underway at the national team level. On the 17th (Korean time), officials from the KBO operation team applied mud to the official ball in a practice game against the NC Dinos held at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona, USA. This is to create an environment similar to that in real life.
The major leagues coat the official ball with mud like this in official games. The same goes for the WBC, which is hosted by Major League Baseball. Knowing this well, the KBO decided to apply it from the first practice game.
On this day, 7 pitchers of the national team stepped on the mound. Starting with Kim Kwang-hyun, Ko Young-pyo and Jeong Cheol-won. Won Tae-in, Jung Woo-young, Lee Eui-ri, and Ko Woo-seok threw one inning each. They all threw balls with mud on them. Koh Young-pyo, whom we met after the game, said, “When I threw a curve or slider that curves horizontally, I felt a little slippery in my hand.” There are more movements than expected,” he said.
The national team plans to continue adapting to actual combat through practice matches against the KIA Tigers on the 20th, KT Wiz on the 23rd and 25th, and LG Twins on the 27th.