There are no international competitions scheduled, but there is not much time left. It will be too late to start preparing now.토토사이트

The Korean baseball team failed to advance to the Super Round at the "Premier 12" event held in Taiwan last month. In the preliminary round of Group B held in Taipei, Taiwan, the team suffered a shock loss of 3-6 to Taiwan in its first game and then beat Cuba 8-4, but failed to overcome Japan's barrier and suffered its second defeat. Despite a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the Dominican Republic and a complete victory in the match against Australia, the team failed to advance to the next round, as it was hampered by two losses to its Asian rivals.

The national baseball team made a disastrous failure at the World Baseball Classic in March last year. It lost to Australia in its first game and lost to Japan, failing to advance to the second round for three consecutive times at the WBC. It was criticized as a frog in a well, and the national team also bowed its head before returning to Korea.

Since the WBC, which was a shock itself, KBO and the baseball team have been forming a young national team under the pretext of "generation change." At the WBC, Lee Kang-chul, who concurrently served as the head coach of KT Wiz, took the helm, but later decided to revive the full-time manager system.

Former LG Twins manager Ryu Joong-il, who was confirmed as the head coach of the Asian Games at the time, naturally increased his term as the Asian Games were postponed by a year in the aftermath of COVID-19.

Since announcing the replacement of the generation of the national team, the team has been formed with the main players of the KBO League in their mid to late 20s including last year's Asian Games, the APBC (Asian Baseball Championship), and the Premier 12. The justification for a generation change was clear, but frankly, it is hard to say that it is a success.

There is no rebuilding without success, but it is hard to say that the national team's performance over the past year is satisfactory. In the Asian Games, he also won the gold medal, which was his ultimate goal, but he was not able to avoid criticism that he was a poor player in some games. APBC, where players in their 20s mainly participated, failed to cross the Japanese wall, and Premier 12 also confirmed the cold reality that it was losing ground to Taiwan.

Taiwan, which had always been considered one level below, seemed to have completely succeeded in changing the generation of young players playing in the U.S. Minor League in this Premier 12. Taiwan also beat world No. 1 Japan in the final to win the title for the first time in history. The level of professional leagues is much higher in KBO, and the fact that the Korean baseball team has struggled with the Taiwanese national team for several years proves that the national team has failed to make proper preparations and implement them in practice.

Now, we need to make a solid result. We can no longer be satisfied just because we are in the midst of a change of generation. We need to produce results. The KBO League is considered the third highest level of professional league in the world after the U.S. Major League and the Japanese Baseball Organization. However, the Korean baseball team's international competitiveness is regressing from 2006 to 2010.

Ryu Joong-il's tenure as national team coach ended with the Premier 12 closing. With the full-time manager system expected to be maintained, the KBO has been comprehensively considering several candidates, but is not in a hurry to appoint the next coach. This is because there is no big international competition to participate in the "A" national team scheduled for next year. However, he is not in a relaxed mood.

The WBC, which will take place in March 2026, will have to prepare for the event all year round next year. The WBC has to show a different performance this time, especially considering the past when players were humiliatingly eliminated from the first round for the third consecutive time, and when they had a hard time participating in the championship in March, right before the opening of the regular season, players in particular had to show off their different performance. Notably, the WBC is seeing its status as the host MLB Secretariat encouraged major leaguers to participate in the championship since last year. A number of the world's best players, including Shohei Ohtani, are showing their willingness to participate in the event next year as well. Perhaps, the WBC is the best stage to show that Korean baseball has become stronger again.

However, if it ends in failure, the cause for the replacement of the generation of the national team will disappear without any meaning, and the whole country will lose its direction and drift. We should not repeat the regret that we clearly confirmed at this Premier 12.