What's wrong with KIA's new foreigner?→ Was LG Park Hae-min too conscious? 'Why did you spray bad pitches there with your sloppy form?' [WBC]

*This content was translated by AI.

Gerid Dale (26) of the Australian baseball team, who will play the starting shortstop for the KIA Tigers this season. At the crucial moment, he bowed his head, committing a bad pitch with sloppy form. Why did he make such a mistake.

The Korean baseball team, led by head coach Ryu Ji-hyun, won 7-2 against Australia in the final 4th Group C match of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) at Tokyo Dome in Japan on the 9th.

With this victory, South Korea, Australia and Taiwan all tied with 2 wins and 2 losses, but South Korea led the team in losing points and advanced to the quarterfinals dramatically, ranking second in the group. South Korea had to achieve the complex conditions of "victory by more than five points" and "less than two runs" against Australia, miraculously reaching the quarterfinals with a score of 7-2. It is the first time in 17 years that Korea has advanced to the quarterfinals of the WBC since the 2009 tournament.

Now, South Korea is heading to Miami, where the quarterfinals will be held. The second place in Group C (Korea) will face the first place in Group D in the match table. It's a one-off match. In Group D, the Dominican Republic is currently at the top of the group with three consecutive wins. For now, Venezuela is expected to compete fiercely for the top spot in the group. South Korea's quarterfinals will be held at 7:30 a.m. on the 14th (Korea time).

One of the many destinations on this day. South Korea's offense in the top of the ninth inning, with South Korea leading 6-2. South Korea unconditionally needed an extra point to advance to the quarterfinals.

South Korea got on base with leadoff hitter Kim Do-young walking for the fifth time against O'Rourlin, who took the mound in relief in the ninth inning. But at this time, the Korean bench moved.

Instead of Kim Do-young, Park Hae-min was put in. In fact, it was Kim Do-young who was second to none if he was the main player. However, it was Kim Do-young, who suffered from a hamstring injury last year. On top of that, he has been the stealer king for four consecutive seasons since 2015 when he was with the Samsung Lions, and the stealer king last season. He was Park Hae-min, who was more experienced than anyone else in running base.

Park Hae-min's fast feet could shake the infield, as well as the Australian battery. The next batter, Jamai Jones, flies out to right field. One out. The next batter was Lee Jung-hoo. 2nd ball from the ball count 1-0. The ball hit by Lee Jung-hoo was deflected toward the shortstop after being hit by the glove of opposing pitcher O'Rourkelyn.

The ball was caught by Australian shortstop Dale. If he was a slow runner, Korea would have to think about a double play. But the runner was Park Hae-min. Park Hae-min, who sprinted so fast. As soon as Dale tried to throw to second base after the catch, Park Hae-min, who is already sliding toward the second base, came into view. Naturally, Dale had no choice but to be in a hurry, and he threw to second base as soon as possible, but a bad pitch came out with sloppy form. It was no exaggeration to say that Park Hae-min's quick feet induced Dale's bad calls. The official record is a shortstop throwing error.

Park Hae-min, who did not recognize that the ball fell back at first, stayed at second base for a while and soon headed to third base. Lee Jung-hoo also lived at first base. Next up is Ahn Hyun-min. He hit an outfield fly to right-center on the first pitch. Still, the third baseman was Park Hae-min, and he was able to safely come home. 7-2. It was a precious one point that led Korea to the quarterfinals like a miracle.

Dale is KIA's key infielder who will make his debut to KBO League fans this season. KIA invested a total of 150,000 dollars (40,000 down payment, 70,000 annual salary, 40,000 dollars option) in the Asian quarter.

A native of Melbourne, Australia, Dale first made his professional debut at the Melbourne Accies in ABL, Australia, in 2016. After signing a minor contract with the San Diego Padres in 2019, he played a total of six seasons, including two Triple-A seasons. In the 2025 season, he joined the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Orix Buffaloes as a nurturing foreign player and played in 41 games in the second division alone, recording 35 hits, two homers, 14 RBIs, 12 runs and a batting average of 0.297.

In the 2025 KBO Fall League held in Ulsan in October last year, he played 12 games as a member of the Melbourne Aces, recording 17 hits, 7 RBIs, 10 runs and a batting average of 0.309. At the time of Dale's recruitment, an official from KIA said, "It is expected to create synergy with infield prospects because it can play all positions in the infield and has excellent defense." He expressed expectations, saying, "He is a player who can set the center of the infield with a stable defense and a lot of experience."

Before leaving the KIA spring camp in January, Dale said, "The WBC tournament is important, but the KBO league season is long. I'm going to train in time for the season. Of course, I will play hard for the Australian national team," he said, adding, "Australia beat South Korea at the 2023 WBC tournament. Maybe it'll be like that this time, too.(Laughs) It's hard to predict the result prematurely, but I'll do my best in every game," he said. Now Dale will join his team KIA and say hello to Korean fans. Will Dale overcome the wounds of the WBC competition and perform well.

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*This content was translated by AI.