韓 Baseball closes the WBC with the final 8th place → 'RBI King' Moon Bo-kyung and 'Superstar' Tatis tied for 1st place with 11 RBIs (Roundup)

*This content was translated by AI.

The Korean baseball team finished the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) journey in the final eighth place. He succeeded in advancing to the second round, which he had set his sights on, but was unfortunately defeated by 0-10 in the quarterfinals against the Dominican Republic, which is said to be a half success. Moon Bo-kyung (LG Twins), who has been hitting hard throughout the tournament, has achieved a valuable achievement by tying for the lead in the RBI category with major league superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. (27, San Diego Padres).

All 2026 WBC schedules ended with the final match between Venezuela and the United States on the 18th (Korea Standard Time). Venezuela beat the U.S. 3-2 after a close game to win its first-ever championship.

South Korea, which passed the group stage and advanced to the quarterfinals tournament, accepted the final 8th place report card as a result of adding up its performance according to the tournament regulations. It was ranked eighth because it had the highest run rate among the teams that lost in the quarterfinals. However, since the 2009 WBC, it has returned to the finals tournament for the first time in 17 years after failing to qualify for the group stage for the third time in a row, and is said to have recovered its international competitiveness.

The biggest harvest of the Korean national team in this tournament was by far Moon Bo-kyung's strides. Moon Bo-kyung swept a total of 11 RBIs in five games in this competition, tying for first place in RBIs in the tournament along with Fernando Tatis Jr. of the Dominican Republic (six games and 11 RBIs). Moon Bo-kyung's concentrated hit at every opportunity signaled a generational change in the Korean batters.

In the "Best 10" announced after the end of the tournament, a number of leading players from Venezuela, the winner, and the U.S., the runner-up, were named. Shohei Ohtani (LA Dodgers) was named in the designated hitter section, while Paul Skins (Pittsburgh Pirates) and Logan Webb (San Francisco Giants) of the United States and Aaron Nola (Philadelphia Phillies) of Italy were named in the pitching section.

The MVP award, which is given to the best player of the tournament, went to Venezuela's third baseman Maikel Garcia (Kansas City Royals). Garcia hit 0.385 (10 hits in 26 at-bats) with one home run and seven RBIs in seven games, including the final, and led his team to its first-ever championship with an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS).

[2026 WBC All Tournament Team List]

- Pitchers: Paul Skins, Logan Webb, Aaron Nola

- Catcher: Austin Wells (Republic of Dominaka)

- First baseman: Luis Arraez (Venezuela)

- Second baseman: Bryce Turang (USA)

- Third baseman: Maikel Garcia (Venezuela)

- Shortstop: Ezequiel Toba (Venezuela)

- Outfielders: Roman Anthony (United States), Fernando Tatis Jr (Republic of Dominaka), Dante Nori (Italy)

- Designated hitter: Shohei Ohtani (Japan)

[Final ranking for 2026 WBC]

No. 1 Venezuela

2nd place is the United States

3rd place, Dominican Republic

4th place Italy

5th place, Japan

No. 6 Canada

7th place Puerto Rico

8th place, South Korea

9th place Mexico

#10 Israel

11th place Australia

12th place Cuba

13th place, Taiwan

14th place, United Kingdom

15th place Colombia

16th place Netherlands

17th place Panama

No. 18 Nicaragua

19th place Czech Republic

20th place in Brazil

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*This content was translated by AI.