*This content was translated by AI.
"Baseball is the most popular sport in Korea, and it is true that we disappointed you in the recent international competition. This time, I will definitely go all the way to Miami to bring joy to the fans."
Ryu Ji-hyun (55), head coach of the South Korean national baseball team, did not tremble at the official press conference held at Tokyo Dome a day before the opening round of the 2026 WBC (World Baseball Classic) finals on the 4th. Someone said 'a rant', and someone kept the promise, which they considered 'a wishful thinking'.
The Korean baseball team finally won a ticket to the U.S., where the final tournament will be held, after breaking the brutal history of failing to make the finals for three consecutive tournaments. It is the first time in 17 years that he has tasted it since he won the runner-up prize in 2009.
The process was simply dramatic. He shed tears as he shook off the tired jinx of the first game that had been going on since the 2013 tournament, but this time, he got off to a fresh start by catching the Czech Republic. The defeat against Japan was an expected scenario, but it was shaken by the catch against Taiwan on the 8th. In the match against Australia on the 9th, when his advance to the match on his own became unclear, coach Ryu Ji-hyun grabbed the shaky squad and said, "It's a difficult situation, but in a way, it's also a game that gave us a chance again. If you are too tied to specific scores and are chased and urgent, you can get a bad result. If you do your part within 3 hours, there will definitely be good results. We have enough time," he encouraged.
The players responded with skill to the coach's belief. The central lineup, which had been sluggish in the match against Taiwan, hit a timely hit at a critical moment, and the desperate pitching of the pitchers, who were willing to throw all-out pitches on the mound, silenced the Australian batting line with two runs. South Korea, which had to score two runs or less with a five-point win under the tournament's rules governing the loss rate after the winner's win, finally proved its qualification for a flight to Miami by beating Australia 7-2 to secure second place in the group.
This feat was not just a result of luck. It was a victory for "authenticity" and "data baseball" that manager Ryu Ji-hyun professed. Throughout the tournament, coach Ryu Ji-hyun actively used Saber Metrics terms such as "adjusted scoring ability (wRC+)" and hard hit production ratio by type, expressing confidence in preparation. He also mentioned that Germai Jones (Detroit Tigers) has excellent wRC+ figures in the Major League, and the possibility of producing strong hits against Japanese starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi (LA Angels).
Ryu's 'shame'-based conviction hit the spot as if it were a match. In the match against Japan against Yusei Kikuchi, although the team lost 6-8, the batters made a positive hit against Kikuchi and gave him three runs in three innings.
Behind this precise strategy was the collective intelligence of the so-called "command-level coaching staff" led by head coach Ryu Ji-hyun. In addition to Ryu, the national team has formed a super-luxury team with a large number of former coaches, including Choi Won-ho (53, former Hanwha Eagles), Lee Dong-wook (52), and Kang In-kwon (54, former NC Dinos), who led the first-team team in the KBO league.
Ryu Ji-hyun, who watched from the field, was quite different from the authoritative national team in the past. Coach Ryu drew a "heart" at the success of Germai Jones' steal and breathed with the players without any qualms. The soft leadership, which was pleased, saying, "Everyone who wears Korea on the uniform has one heart," became the driving force behind the team's "one team" that could have collapsed due to the defeat against Taiwan.
The promise to "turn disappointment in the baseball team into joy" has now become a reality and is waiting for fans under the hot sun of Miami, the "land of the showdown." Ryu Ji-hyun, who competed in both the 2006 WBC and 2013 WBC as coaches, is now heading to the U.S. as the head coach who rebuilt the pride of Korean baseball in 2026.
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*This content was translated by AI.
