*This content was translated by AI.
Ahead of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March, various speculations are coming and going over South Korea's starting pitcher in the first round. Taiwan's local media predicted that "right-hander fire bowlers" Kwak Bin (27, Doosan Bears) and Ryu Hyun-jin (39, Hanwha Eagles) will come out against Taiwan.
Taiwan's multiple media outlets, including TSNA and China Times, detailed their pitching management plans based on the South Korean national team's appearance in practice games. In particular, Taiwanese media analyzed that the Korean national team is likely to start Kwak Bin, who is in the best condition, for the upcoming match against Taiwan on March 8, followed by Ryu Hyun-jin.
The rationale was the interval between pitches. TSNA analyzed, "The starting pitcher against Taiwan on March 8 is very likely to eventually become a pitcher who will play in the warm-up match on March 2nd," adding, "Both South Korea and Taiwan have already confirmed their starting rotation internally." It is a natural scenario to take a five-day break after taking the mound on the 2nd and play in the showdown on the 8th. As such, we are looking at articles from Korea in real time.
Taiwan is particularly nervous because of Ryu Hyun-jin's history of "strong against Taiwan." In the past, Ryu Hyun-jin had a reputation as a "Taiwan killer" by completely blocking Taiwan's batters at major international competitions such as the 2007 Beijing Olympics qualifying round and the 2009 WBC.
Taiwan also showed the outline of the pitchers who will play in the against South Korea / vs. Korea. Fireballer Gurin Ruiliang (26, Nippon Ham Fighters) is likely to be the first to play. Gurinrui Yang is a well-known player who even conducted joint training in Korea while sharing friendship with Kwak Bin. If the starting showdown takes place, a situation will happen in which "best friends" have to compete against the other team.
Gurin Ruiliang, who dominated the Taiwan Professional Baseball League (CPBL) from the 2018 to 2024 season, moved to the Japanese Professional Baseball (NPB) ahead of the 2025 season. He played seven NPB games in the 2025 season, recording 2 wins, 2 losses and a 3.62 ERA. He is a pitcher who uses a strong fastball and sharp fork ball in the mid-150km/h range as his main weapons. However, he was somewhat sluggish in a closed practice game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Taipei Dome in Taiwan on the 21st, recording three hits and two runs in two innings.
In fact, hiding starting pitchers does not mean hiding them. It is also because starting pitchers can be inferred according to the pitch interval. As the opening of the WBC approaches, the starting rotations of the participating countries are slowly being outlined. As there is a limit on the number of pitches in the first round according to the WBC tournament regulations, most participating countries are setting up a 1+1 strategy.
In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that Korea's advance to the quarterfinals at this WBC depends on the match against Taiwan on March 8. The possibility of passing the group increases only when Taiwan must be caught in a tight schedule in which they face the Czech Republic (5th) and Japan (7th).
No team has officially announced a starting pitcher yet. Attention is focusing on whether Kwak Bin and Ryu Hyun-jin's conflicting styles of "one-two punch" will be put into the match against Taiwan as predicted by the Taiwanese media.
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*This content was translated by AI.
