"It's worth doing it with the best team atmosphere ever → Son Joo-young's cancellation is not yet, with 30 people!" Ryu Jihyun's confidence

*This content was translated by AI.

Ryu Ji-hyun (55), the head of the South Korean national baseball team, expressed his confidence that he could try while paying respect to the Dominican Republic, the opponent of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarterfinals.

Coach Ryu Ji-hyun said at an official press conference held at Rondipo Park in Miami, Florida on the 13th (Korea time), "Dominica is a team of world-class players and a strong team full of superstars."

However, he emphasized that the current atmosphere of our national team is better than ever, expressing his confidence in winning. Coach Ryu said, "I told you in the first round, but I told you that no WBC national team has ever formed such a good atmosphere. It is in a state where more power than skills can be produced, and this positive energy continued in the quarterfinals following the victory over Australia. "It will continue naturally in the second round, and in this atmosphere, it's worth trying," he said confidently.

He also clarified how to target opponent starter Christopher Sanchez. Manager Ryu analyzed, "Sanchez is a very good pitcher with a fast sinker and a change-up that falls outside of the right-handed batter," but pointed out, "If our batters increase their on-base percentage and demonstrate their initiative in Sanchez's change-up, they will be able to play a competitive game."

He also introduced the team's strong will. Coach Ryu said, "About 10 people, including the coaching staff, tried to visit the stadium to watch the match between Dominica and Venezuela yesterday, but when I came, about 20 people including the players came," adding, "The fact that I went to watch in person even though it was time for a long-distance break is proof that the passion is great."

He didn't let his guard down. Manager Ryu said, "Dominica is a team that also hits a lot of home runs, so our pitchers should focus more and reduce their actual pitches."

Meanwhile, he chose to break through head-on for the failure of Korean pitcher Riley O'Brien (St. Louis Cardinals) to join and the injury void of Son Joo-young (LG). Coach Ryu plans to play in the quarterfinals with 29 players without a substitute.

"I'm not sure of my performance even if I join through long-distance travel at the start of the KBO League exhibition game," he said. "I thought it was more meaningful for the members who were together from the beginning to gather strength than for a new player to join." One is not enough, but there is no big problem. Son Joo-young also hasn't canceled it yet. "We decided that it was meaningful for 30 people to join forces until the end," he explained.

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*This content was translated by AI.