National manager's affirmation, "The jinx of the first game of the WBC should be posted by cutting off the words and pitchers made up."

*This content was translated by AI.

The Korean national baseball team (director Ryu Ji-hyun) will play the first round of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) finals against the Czech Republic at Tokyo Dome, Japan, at 7 p.m. on the 5th.

Korea doesn't have a good memory of the 'first game of the WBC'. In the first and second tournaments, he won against Taiwan in a row, but in the third and fifth tournaments, he tasted bitterness. Moreover, the other countries were the Netherlands, Israel, and Australia, respectively. I suffered a shocking defeat in an unexpected ambush.

The result of the first game was directly linked to the overall performance of the tournament. In the first and second innings, they made the semifinals and the runner-up, respectively, but failed to pass the first round in all three recent competitions. The national team was labeled the "WBC 1st Game Jinx."

However, "national coach" Kim In-sik (79) had a different idea. Former coach Kim, who has led the WBC national team three times, told Star News on the phone on the 5th, "It's not a jinx. "It was created by some experts and commentators," he said, "It was just a victory or defeat based on what our team and the other team members were like."

"There is a saying that 'Japan is weak against our left-handed pitchers', but it is also up to the pitcher," he said. "In the end, regardless of whether it is the first game or not, it is important to what extent our power is equipped." He added, "These days, some commentators say that if a batter hits a home run, the batting feeling is the best, but you have to explain the level of the opponent's pitcher and what kind of ball he hit."

In the end, the "time to replace the pitcher" is expected to be the key to the game. Former manager Kim said, "The most important thing is how to manage the pitching staff, rather than who the starter is and which pitchers come out as bullpens."

"As it is an international competition and a short-term match, we have to keep waiting for the second and third pitchers after the selection and cut them off every moment and post them up. We need to replace the pitcher faster without missing the timing while saying, "Of course, if a pitcher like Dane Dunning (32) throws well, we can leave it to him for a little longer." "We should run the mound based on the number of pitches, not innings," he advised.

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*This content was translated by AI.