Will there be any change in the mound plan of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) coach Lee Kang-cheol?

Coach Lee announced the WBC national team entry in January and mentioned that veteran left-handed pitchers Kim Gwang-hyun (35) and Yang Hyeon-jong (35) would be “used in important situations.” Since the WBC has a pitching limit (65 pitches in the preliminary round), starting pitchers cannot throw long innings, so it means that they will rather put the two players in the most important game.

Yang Hyun-jong and Kim Gwang-hyun have built up most of their pro careers as starting pitchers. Kim Kwang-hyun started 304 games and 22 bullpen games in the KBO regular season, and pitched in 28 games as a starter and 7 games as a bullpen in the major leagues. Yang Hyeon-jong started 354 games in the KBO and appeared in 101 games with the bullpen. In the major leagues, he played four games as a starter and eight in the bullpen. Even in the minor leagues, he was a starter in 9 out of 10 games.

A starting pitcher who handles pre-determined pitching innings and number of pitches and a bullpen pitcher who warms up and climbs immediately depending on the situation differ greatly in how to build a body during the off-season and how to improve condition at camp. Although they may be sensitive to disruptions in physical condition management as they are ‘old men’ over the age of 35, coach Lee believed in the sincerity and responsibility of the two players and took out the card for the match.

Yang Hyeon-jong did not care about the bullpen. On the 15th (Korean time), Yang Hyeon-jong, who had the last bullpen pitching (41 pitches) before joining the national team at the KIA spring camp in Tucson, Arizona, USA, said, “I would have been embarrassed if I had received a schedule right before the tournament, but since I heard the story from mid-December, There was enough space,” he said. 토토사이트

However, Kim Gwang-hyun, who moved to Arizona from the Florida SSG camp that day, said, “I have to discuss it with the coach, but since I’ve been almost a starter for my career, there’s no pressure to go out in the middle of this tournament. First of all, I have about two weeks of camp, but what can I do with the coach?” I think we need to discuss whether to make it into a physical condition,” he said cautiously.

Coach Lee has not already made plans for the mound. Coach Lee said ahead of the pre-training, “The idea may change depending on how the players are after gathering,” so it is likely that he will have an in-depth conversation with the pitchers during the national team training starting on the 15th. At this time, the final position of Yang Hyun-jong and Kim Gwang-hyun can also be determined.

The pitching limit for the WBC preliminary round is 65 pitches, 80 pitches for the second round, and 95 pitches after the semi-finals. For this reason, pitcher management in the preliminary round is more important than ever. The basic strategy is to focus on pitchers in good condition. Attention is focusing on how coach Lee, who has been a pitching expert since his coaching days, will put the best mound puzzle pieces together in the national team.