Doosan’s native ace Kwak Bin (24) proved that Coach Ryu Joong-il’s assessment that he was “Korea’s best right-hander and ace” was not wrong.
Kwak Bin started the final match against Japan in the 2023 Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) held at Tokyo Dome in Japan on the 19th, and pitched well with 5 hits (1 home run)
3 walks, 6 strikeouts, and 1 run in 5 innings. Korea crossed the mound at the start of the 6th inning with a 2-1 lead, meeting the requirements for a starting win 바카라사이트닷컴
but Choi Seung-yong allowed the tying run and the victory was denied. Korea also finished the tournament as runner-up, losing 3-4 after a close game in the 10th overtime.
Regardless of win or loss, Kwak Bin’s pitching was very impressive.
Japanese fireballer Tatsuya Imai (25, Seibu Lions), who throws a maximum distance of 159 km
threw the maximum distance of 155 km on this day, but was hit by a 2-RBI double from Noh Si-hwan in the 3rd inning, allowing 5 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, and 2 runs (1 earned) in 4 innings.
It didn’t meet expectations. Kwak Bin pitched one more inning than Imai, and his overall pitching content was slightly more acceptable.
Kwak Bin, who hit No. 1 Kyota Fujiwara with a 152km fastball high inside the first pitch, hit a fly ball to center field, caught Kozono with a fly ball to second base, and then hit a heavy hit from Shota Morishita.
However, he lost the timing of the next batter, Shugo Maki, with a 114km slow curve and struck out the next batter.
When a large curve with a deep drop hit the zone, Maki agreed and entered the first base dugout.
The second inning started with a strikeout of Shogo Sakakura. The bat came out and stopped on a slider that went low toward left-handed hitter Sakakura, but it was ruled a swing.
Then, the next batter, Chusei Mannami, hit a double that hit the top of the right fence.
The slider on the 5th pitch went high outside, resulting in a home run.
He stole the timing from the next batter, Makoto Kadowaki, with a change-up and hit a fly ball to second base
but he gave up walks to Teruaki Sato and Yuki Okabayashi, putting the bases loaded.
Fujiwara was then allowed to hit a line drive to the right field, but he overcame the bases-load crisis without giving up a run by heading straight to right field.
Kwak Bin, who went to the mound in the bottom of the third inning with the first run on Noh Si-hwan’s two-RBI double, was hit by leadoff pitcher Kozono, but grounded Morishita to third base and hit Maki with a fly ball to shortstop.
A walk was allowed to Sakakura, leading to a crisis at first and second base, but he lured Mannami with an outside slider on the fourth pitch.
With a ground ball to shortstop, he crossed first and second base without allowing a run.
In the fourth inning, Okabayashi had one hit, but struck out all three outs.
He roared by striking out Kadowaki with a high curveball 114km to the body, striking out Sato with a fastball 151km to the body, and striking out Fujiwara with a swinging changeup 131km
Kwak Bin’s various pitching patterns and decisive balls confused the Japanese batters, so much so that all three batters struck out with different pitches.
In the 5th inning, Kwak Bin, who struck out Kozono with a straight hit to shortstop and Morishita with a missed swing with a curve with a large drop of 118 km
lost his first run to Maki with a solo home run to the left. The 117km curve on the second pitch became a lost throw in the middle, leading to a long hit.
The ball flew a distance of 115m with an exit speed of 165km and a launch angle of 37 degrees.
Although the scoreless streak ended, Kwak Bin, who grounded the next batter, Sakakura, to second base with a 152km fastball on the first pitch, was replaced at the start of the 6th inning with a 2-1 lead.
The total number of pitches was 88, with a maximum speed of 152 km, focusing on fastballs, while using curves, sliders, and change-ups as the deciding pitches.
In particular, the angle of the curve that drops from 12 o’clock to 6 o’clock was amazing.
After the game, Kwak Bin said, “I felt the wall of my fastball. “Japanese batters hit fastballs very well,” he said.
There was a bit of control in the early part of the game, but after getting the last out in the third inning, I felt like I was in control and was in control.
He was in good condition, and it was a pitch with no regrets,” he said. He continued, “I still have a lot of baseball life left. It is a learning stage.
I think I can work harder by watching Japanese pitchers and batters. “He also gained confidence that he could throw my ball,” he promised.
Kwak Bin fell short of expectations at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) last March, allowing 4 hits, 3 strikeouts, and 3 runs in 2 innings in 2 games.
He then raised expectations as an ace at the Hangzhou Asian Games, but was unable to pitch in a single game due to his shoulder pain not recovering during the tournament.
The only player among the national team who did not participate. Although he received military service benefits with a gold medal
he suffered from the ‘free riding’ controversy as he did not throw a single ball, but he announced the birth of a new international pitcher with a good pitch that day.