"Dignity of the Korea catcher of the Korean national team." He was neither an LG colleague nor an LG coach. The first thing I looked for and hugged was Doosan, a "one-roof rival."

*This content was translated by AI.

Moon Bo-kyung threw his glove into the sky, and players rushed out of the Korean dugout. Fast forward. Three outs in the bottom of the ninth. the end of the game. Near the mound, Korean players hugged each other, and someone shared joy in hot tears.

At this moment, he led the pitchers until the end of the ninth inning and was in charge of the game. There was also Park Dong-won (36, LG Twins). And there was one person who Park Dong-won came first and hugged him, and it was Doosan Bears closure Kim Taek-yeon (21).

It was also a scene where I could feel the dignity of Park Dong-won as a veteran, a senior, and an older brother. There was a reason.

On this day, South Korea had to achieve the complex conditions of 'winning by more than five points' and 'less than two runs' against Australia.

South Korea had a 6-1 lead until the top of the eighth inning to meet the conditions. Now the game is over if he secures two innings and six outs. The pitcher who took the mound in the bottom of the eighth inning was Kim Taek-yeon.

Kim Taek-yeon, who proudly plays the role of Doosan's closure at that young age. Kim Taek-yeon, who received rave reviews from LA Dodgers manager Dave Roberts during the 2024 Seoul Series.

But Kim Taek-yeon was shaken. He induced a first-pitch swing and miss against leadoff hitter Robbie Perkins, but then allowed a straight walk by throwing four balls in a row. The ball was flying without control. With Australia turning Perkins into pinch-runner Max Durrington, subsequent team Kennelly made a sacrifice bunt in front of the pitcher.

The next batter is Travis Bazana, who ranks first overall in the 2024 MLB Rookie Draft. Kim Taek-yeon held a 1-2 advantageous ball count, including inducing two fouls, but eventually allowed a timely hit to the left. 2-6. The Korean dugout went quiet as if it had poured cold water on it. That's all for Kim Taek-yeon's pitching. Cho Byung-hyun was then placed on the mound and finished the inning without additional runs.

In the top of the ninth inning, Korea added a golden score with Ahn Hyun-min's sacrifice hit. And finally, he secured a five-point lead with no runs in the bottom of the ninth inning and won 7-2.

If South Korea had not scored in the top of the ninth inning, they would have had no choice but to watch Australia's ceremony to advance to the quarterfinals despite the victory. In addition, Kim Taek-yeon also has no choice but to feel heavy.

Is that why. The first thing Park Dong-won visited after winning was not the LG players who joined the national team the most, nor the coaches who joined LG. It was none other than Kim Taek-yeon. Park Dong-won hugged Kim Taek-yeon and did not let go of him for a while. And he smiled brightly while hugging and expressed his joy as it was. As a veteran, especially as a catcher who receives the ball, it was Park Dong-won who knew Kim Taek-yeon's heart better than anyone else. The two teams had a showdown on behalf of LG and Doosan, the "Jamsil rivals." However, they were teammates of the Korean national team and just 15-year-old brothers.

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*This content was translated by AI.