Big Leaguer is definitely different!' Jones and Witcom → 3 Home Run Gift to Mother Nara, who was a filial son, "A special moment with family."

*This content was translated by AI.

Shay Witcom (28, Houston Astros) and Jamai Jones (29, Detroit Tigers), who have Korean mothers, coincidentally led the victory by presenting home runs to their mother's country, South Korea.

The Korean national baseball team, led by head coach Ryu Ji-hyun, won 11-4 in the first Group C match of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) against the Czech Republic at Tokyo Dome in Japan on the 5th. He led 6-0 but allowed a chase, but ran away again to catch the game.

With this victory, South Korea occupied an advantageous position to advance to the quarterfinals and at the same time completely escaped from the "WBC atrocities" that have plagued the national team. It has been 17 years since the 9-0 victory over Taiwan in 2009. He laughed in the first game in four tournaments since losing 0-5 to the Netherlands in 2013 and 1-2 to Israel in 2017 and 7-8 against Australia in 2023. At the same time, he clearly gained the upper hand in the possibility of advancing to the quarterfinals, which is given up to the second place in Group C.

The home run was crucial to the victory. There was also Moon Bo-kyung's home run, but Witcom, who was placed as the sixth batter and third baseman, showed a fire-fighting show in the third and fifth innings of consecutive home runs. Jones, who played second batter and left fielder, also had two RBIs, including a solo home run, in the bottom of the eighth inning. In other words, the two Korean hitters presented their mother's country with three home runs.

Jones expressed his overwhelming emotion in an interview after the game. Jones said, "I wanted to contribute to the team, but I feel really good because the home run came out late," adding, "I wanted to help the team win somehow."

Jones' mother visited the stadium in person and cheered for her son. "My mother was sitting in the second row right behind the dugout," Jones said, "It was a really special moment for both of us, and I'm very excited to meet her tonight and talk to her about the game." He added that he communicated with his mother, who was close to the dugout during the game, by making eye contact.

The same was true of Whitcomb. Witcom, who went to the official press conference as a trainee player, said, "My mother always sends me a message. My mother must have been happy with my performance, but it's a good thing. I'm very happy to play in front of my mother and play for Korea. In fact, I haven't contacted my family, but if I have a chance, I would like to hug (my mother) and share joy," he said with a smile.

Jones and Witcom, who jointly gave three home runs to their mother's country, are trying to continue this momentum until the match against Japan. Jones said of the match against Japan, "I think the atmosphere of the stadium will be passionate, but I'm going to face a good team," adding, "I'm excited to meet at the stadium in Japan, where there are players who have played a few times, including Shohei Otani." Witcom also said, "I want to show all the things we can do, attack boldly like today and play like me. I'm confident in hitting, so I think I can just show it as it is," he said with force.

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

*This content was translated by AI.