‘Glasses Ace’ Park Se-woong (28, Lotte Giants) does not forget the regret of not winning a medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held two years ago.
Appearing as the 4th pitcher in the bronze medal match against the Dominican Republic, he fought back, striking out 4 in 1⅔ innings, but unfortunately allowed 1 run, and the Korean national team suffered a come-from-behind defeat 6-10.
Park Se-woong, who was named to the final roster of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) and participated in the international competition again after two years, expressed his aspirations to prove the competitiveness of Korean baseball.
Park Se-woong, who won double-digit victories in two consecutive seasons in 2021 (10 wins) and 2022 (10 wins), boarded Lee Kang-cheol.
The WBC is the third adult international competition in which Park Se-woong participates, following the 2017 Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) and the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. In particular, since this tournament is the best stage in baseball where a large number of the best players currently active in the Major League (MLB) participate, it is inevitable that the determination to work is different.
Park Se-woong said, “I worked hard thinking that I had to prepare well enough to be selected for the final list. I was so happy and honored to hear that I was selected for the final list on the 4th.”
At the same time, he said that he had a strong desire to win. He said, “The WBC is different from general international competitions. It has the greatest authority among baseball international competitions, and all the outstanding players who are called the top players play.”메이저사이트 “I have a desire to win in all games. I have a stronger will to win no matter what team I meet than winning.”
South Korea will play the WBC Round 1 Group B match against Japan, Australia, China and the Czech Republic at the Tokyo Dome in Japan from March 9th. If Korea ranks 1st or 2nd after the full league, the 1st or 2nd place in Group A and the quarterfinals will be held at the same place. And if they win in the quarterfinals, they will go to Miami, USA to challenge for the first championship ever.메이저사이트
Head coach Lee Kang-chul set a goal of reaching at least the semifinals in this tournament and threw a vote saying, “I want to go beyond Japan and go to a wider place (USA).” Park Se-woong also showed his will to reach the highest level.
He said, “The Olympics was a tournament that left a lot of regrets. This WBC recognizes that it is also important for the success of the KBO League. But I will definitely prove the competitiveness of Korean baseball in this tournament.”
He added, “I will focus on one game at a time and win and cross over to the United States. So I want to play until the last day of the tournament.”
In order for the Korean national baseball team to go to a higher place, they must first achieve good results at the Tokyo Dome, and Park Se-woong is familiar with that place. He started in the APBC final against Japan six years ago, giving up one run in three innings.
Park Se-woong said, “I haven’t pitched a lot in the Tokyo Dome, but I’ve played before, so I think it’s okay. I’m not particularly conscious of the place (it’s an away game and it’s a dome stadium). I’ll work hard and throw well.”
Unlike the Olympics held during the season (July-August) and the APBC held after the season (November), the WBC kicks off in March before the season begins. Usually, this time is the process of preparing for the opening of the season by playing practice games and exhibition games, so this time there is homework to raise the pace faster than in previous years.
Regarding this, Park Se-woong said, “I have been building my body quickly since spring camp, so there is no big difficulty.”