2023 WBC (World Baseball Classic), from day one, change has unfolded. In the first round of the finals, Group A host Taiwan lost to Panama. Panama, made up mostly of former major leaguers and young players, was considered a team one step below Taiwan. However, Taiwan allowed one big inning to Panama and lowered its head.
Panama was eliminated in the first round in 2006 (3 losses) and 2009 (2 losses), respectively, and failed to cross the qualification threshold in the 2013-2017 tournament. In 2006, he scored 7 points in 3 games, but in 2009, he scored no goals in 2 games. In the first edition of WBC, which came out again after 14 years, he wrote new history by opening the scoring channel.
If you look at the content, it was a game that Taiwan will always regret.
The first big inning in the top of the 4th inning could have been avoided if a cold judgment had been made. Taiwan starting pitcher Hu Zhiwei gave up a walk after the leadoff hitter’s double, and was safely driven to 1st and 2nd bases. At this point, the number of pitches is 61. It was a situation where only four were left in the first round starting pitch limit (65). Although he was able to deal with one more batsman, it was a crisis that the previous content was not good and the balance could be broken from 0-0.
In this situation, the Taiwanese bench chose to push Who Zwei as it is. The day after the game against Panama, Taiwan, which was a rest day, could fully use the pitching staff in the following game if they adjusted the number of pitches in the bullpen. Despite this, he chose to cherish the pitching staff. Husway gave up a right hand shot after two pitches and gave up. It was only then that the Taiwan bench moved, but the atmosphere in Panama was already heating up. Since Cheon Kwan-wei, who climbed the mound following Hu Zhi-wei, could not put out the fire, Taiwan gave up only 5 points in the 4th inning.
The cost of missing the timing of a new pitcher was severe. The longer defense time led to a decrease in the concentration of attacks, resulting in Taiwan not being able to take advantage of the opportunity to do so. The twisted mound’s plan of action was an excuse to give up 6 runs again in the 6th inning.
In this WBC, not only are the number of pitches limited, but the new pitcher must face three or more batters to get down the mound. For this reason, mound management has been identified as the biggest variable that determines the success or failure of the entire tournament. It can be said that the complete defeat of Taiwan in the first game is a clear example of what results can be obtained if the mound is not implemented calmly and thoroughly in the game situation and matches the opponent’s batter in accordance with these rules. It was a game that could be a teacher on the other hand for Lee Kang-cheol-ho, who plays the game between Korea and Japan the day after the Australia game.
Reporter Park Sang-kyung ppark@sportschosun.com
