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| Korean national baseball team coach Ryu Ji-hyun speaks at an official press conference ahead of the Korea-Japan warm-up match against the World Baseball Classic (WBC) at Tokyo Dome, Japan on the 14th. Yonhap News |
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| Ryu Ji-hyun of the Korean national baseball team and Hirokazu Ibata of the Japanese national baseball team shake hands after an official press conference held ahead of the Korea-Japan warm-up match against the World Baseball Classic (WBC) at Tokyo Dome, Japan on the 14th. Yonhap News |
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| South Korean and Japanese baseball teams coaches and players look bright at an official press conference ahead of the Korea-Japan warm-up match against the World Baseball Classic (WBC) at Tokyo Dome, Japan on the 14th. From left are the Japanese national baseball team's coach, Shugo Maki and Hirokazu Ibata, and the Korean national baseball team's coach, Ryu Ji-hyun and Park Hae-min. Yonhap News |
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Ryu Ji-hyun, head coach of the Korean national baseball team, expressed his desire to make the warm-up match against Japan a place to return the love of the fans.
At a press conference for the "2025 NAVER K-BASEBALL SERIES" warm-up match against Japan at Tokyo Dome on the 14th, Ryu said that this warm-up match was an important game for next year's WBC, expressing his desire to repay 12 million fans who visited the ballpark this year.
Asked what this warm-up meant, coach Ryu said, `Recently, our national team was eliminated in the first round in succession in the third, fourth, and fifth WBC tournaments. So I think it's more important than any other time for next year's WBC"It added meaning to the warm-up match, and "I think it's an opportunity to entertain and reward fans because the KBO League is the most loved sport in our country right now."
When asked to pick one Japanese pitcher and batter who are boundaries at the WBC in March next year, he said, `He is Chihiro Sumida, who is also in the warm-up match entry. When I looked at the record, I only lost one run in 10 innings. I heard that he plans to use Sumida as an intermediate pitcher in the WBC, but I think we need to prepare for thisThe batter is Maki Shugo, who is next to him. It was impressive to see Maki greet when he was a base coach or head coach in the national team. He said, "I saw him impressively because of his good skills and personality."
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| Korean national baseball team coach Ryu Ji-hyun speaks at an official press conference ahead of the Korea-Japan warm-up match against the World Baseball Classic (WBC) at Tokyo Dome, Japan on the 14th. On the left is Japanese national baseball team coach Hirokazu Ibata.Yonhap News |
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| South Korean and Japanese baseball team coaches and players are taking commemorative photos at an official press conference ahead of the Korea-Japan warm-up match against the World Baseball Classic (WBC) at Tokyo Dome, Japan on the 14th. From left are the Japanese national baseball team's coach, Shugo Maki and Hirokazu Ibata, and the Korean national baseball team's coach, Ryu Ji-hyun and Park Hae-min.Yonhap News |
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Director Ryu gave a thumbs up to Maki when he saw the translator's story, but Maki turned her head to the side as if she was embarrassed, and the press conference hall turned into a sea of laughter.
Japan has not yet applied WBC regulations such as the use of pitch clock or pitchcom to the Japanese league, so it is trying to adapt in this warm-up match. Asked by a Japanese reporter if there was any problem with the WBC because it was applied in the KBO League, manager Ryu said, `The KBO League is 20 seconds when there is no runner and 25 seconds when there is, but the WBC is shortened to 15 seconds and 18 seconds. Still, through last week's match against the Czech Republic, the players adapted to the WBC regulations to some extent. "I think it will be helpful to recognize that they played pitch clock in the league. And I heard there will be an MLB referee in this warm-up match. I think the players will be able to adapt for next year's WBC."
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
