"I can be healthy." The 155km in February was not a full-strength pitching, so the head coach's 'trust corner' was clearly different [Okinawa Station]

*This content was translated by AI.

Kwak Bin (27, Doosan Bears), the ace of the Korean national baseball team, picked up by Ryu Ji-hyun (55), has finished preparing to avenge the match against Japan.

Kwak Bin started in a practice game against the Hanwha Eagles against the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) at Kadena Baseball Stadium in Kadena, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan on the 23rd and led the national team to a 7-4 victory with one hit and no outs in two innings.

It was his first appearance on the day. Before the game, head coach Ryu Ji-hyun said, "When I went to Australia to watch, Kwak Bin was the best prepared. In addition, his mindset has been different from that of other players since November last year. I think it's because my grades weren't as good as I thought last year," he said. "That mindset has come so far, connecting well in the offseason, and I've seen him throw up to 152km/h in Australia. "It's going well, but I hope you show it well today."

Coach Ryu Ji-hyun, who was called up for training for the national team during the Lunar New Year holiday and gave New Year's cash to the players, wrote on Kwak's envelope that he was an ace in particular. As fastball aces such as Moon Dong-ju and Won Tae-in were dropped due to injuries one after another, Kwak Bin was the only reliable point of the head coach.

It was a pitching that lived up to 100 percent of the expectations. Kwak Bin overwhelmed Hanwha's batting lineup by throwing a maximum of 155km/h and an average of 152km/h. While experimenting with various pitches, including sliders (6 pitches), curves (3 pitches), and change-up (2 pitches), he let batters spin their bats day after day. In the first inning, Lee Jin-young and Jonathan Peraza struck out, and in the second inning, there was no ball out of the infield until two outs. He also struck out the last batter, Lee Do-yoon, and played his role with 24 balls.

Kwak Bin, who met with reporters after the game, said, "I'm so glad that my condition came up well. I don't think the breaking ball is controlled my way yet. I'm trying to refine this part a little more and produce good results at the competition," he said.

It is not easy to come out with a fastball of 155km/h in February, when most players just raise their physical condition. In response, Kwak Bin replied, "I'm not sure if the pace is fast because my arrest was good last year." When asked what percentage of the power the reporters threw, Kwak Bin said, "It might be a little cheeky story. In the first inning, I tried to throw only about 90%. I think the balance is so good that I think the restraint came out well," he said.

Boasting the fastest ball among the starting pitchers on the roster, he is a card he can play against Japan or Taiwan. Personally, it was a good opportunity to avenge his revenge because he was disappointed with two hits and one run in ⅔ innings against Japan in the 2023 WBC.

Kwak Bin said, "It's too bad that a lot of the players have been injured. It would have been reassuring to be together, but I think I should take more responsibility. "I'm going to throw it without any pressure in the game," he said. "I haven't proved it with the result yet, but I want to answer the word ace with the result."

Kim Taek-yeon (Doosan Bears), who was recently replaced by Riley O'Brien (St. Louis Cardinals) injury, was comforting. Now there are two Doosan players. Kwak Bin said, "At the camp, (Kim) Taek-yeon was my roommate. When I was the only one selected, I was actually upset and sad, but Taec-yeon came back and I'm happy to have more people to talk to."

He looks more mature. Now Kwak Bin, who only believed in his energy and was struggling, is not here. There is a limit of 65 pitches for the starting pitchers of this tournament, but he talked about controlling the level of pitches.

Kwak Bin said, "Three years ago, or half years ago, I would have thrown 65 pitches at full strength. But I've heard a lot of advice. Now, I think 65 pitches are bullets, and I try to think and throw them, saving them one by one. I had a lot of conversations with Ryu Hyun-jin at Saipan camp," he explained.

"When I go to the competition, I don't want to make an excuse that I'm late for preparation. Whether I throw well or not, I want to show 100% of myself. I want to do my best because if I can't do it, I just have to fill it up more," he stressed.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.