* Translated by Papago

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Moon Bo-kyung, the No. 1 RBI player, failed to make the WBC ALL-Tournament team... "We're eliminated from the same quarterfinals." What was the difference [2026 WBC]

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Kim Dongyoon

*This content was translated by AI.

National baseball team Moon Bo-kyung is home-in after hitting a two-run home run against Australian Wells in the top of the second inning of the 2026 WBC Tokyo POOL match between South Korea and Australia at Tokyo Dome on the 9th. 2026.03.08. / Photo = Senior Reporter Kang Young-jo
National baseball team Moon Bo-kyung is home-in after hitting a two-run home run against Australian Wells in the top of the second inning of the 2026 WBC Tokyo POOL match between South Korea and Australia at Tokyo Dome on the 9th. 2026.03.08. / Photo = Senior Reporter Kang Young-jo

The 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) ended with Venezuela's first win. Immediately, the all-tournament team was announced, but the name of Moon Bo-kyung (26, LG Twins), who tied for first in RBIs in the tournament, was omitted.

Venezuela defeated the United States 3-2 in the 2026 WBC final at Rondipo Park in Miami, Florida on the 18th (Korea Standard Time).

Starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (Venezuela) took the lead by pitching four scoreless innings in four ⅓. In the bottom of the eighth inning, with Bryce Harper of the U.S. tied the game at 2-2, Eugenio Suarez hit an RBI double in the top of the ninth inning to end the game.

Immediately after the tournament, the Major League's official website, MLB.com , released the All-Tournament Team. Nine position players and three pitchers were selected by journalists and official recorders from around the world who covered the tournament, but there was no name for Moon Bo-kyung.

In this tournament, Moon Bo-kyung played as first baseman and third baseman and hit .438 (7 hits in 16 at-bats) with two homers and 11 RBIs in five games and a 0.526 slugging percentage. He led Korea to advance to the second round (the quarterfinals) for the first time in nine years with a decisive RBI.

Moon Bo-kyung's 11 RBIs were tied for first place with Fernando Tatis Jr. of the Dominican Republic despite playing only five games. It was enough to be selected as an all-tournament team with the first-place home run, tied for fifth by one, the third-place among players with a batting average of 15 or more at-bats, and the second-place on-base percentage.

South Korean first baseman Moon Bo-kyung greets Ohtani, who got on base with a hit in the bottom of the fifth inning of the 2026 WBC Tokyo POOL match between South Korea and Japan at Tokyo Dome on the 7th.   2026.03.07. /Picture = Senior Reporter Kang Young-jo
South Korean first baseman Moon Bo-kyung greets Ohtani, who got on base with a hit in the bottom of the fifth inning of the 2026 WBC Tokyo POOL match between South Korea and Japan at Tokyo Dome on the 7th. 2026.03.07. /Picture = Senior Reporter Kang Young-jo

But the team's performance didn't support him. The first and third bases, which Moon Bo-kyung deserved to aim for, had to give up to the winner Venezuela corner infield duo. The first baseman category was won by Major League batting king Luis Arraez. Arraez hit .308 (8 hits in 26 at-bats) in seven games, two homers and 10 RBIs, and a 0.367 on-base percentage and a 0.692 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) 1.059.

Third baseman Mikel Garcia won the MVP of the tournament with a batting average of 0.385 (10 hits in 26 at-bats) and one homer, seven RBIs, and an OPS of 0.970, in seven games including the first RBI in the final.

With 11 of the 12 All-Tournament team players from the semifinals including Venezuela, the United States, the Dominican Republic and Italy, only Shohei Ohtani overcame the disadvantage of the team's performance. Japan lost to Venezuela in the quarterfinals and experienced the pain of failing to advance to the semifinals for the first time since participating in the WBC. However, Ohtani, who performed unrivaledly, was selected in the designated hitter category of the All-Tournament team.

In this tournament, Ohtani played in the fewest four games, batting average of 0.462 (6 hits in 13 at-bats), three homers and seven RBIs, and an on-base percentage of 0.611 OPS of 1.842. Moon Bo-kyung, who was only ahead of Ohtani's RBI, unfortunately had to give up the last spot.

The following is a list of 2026 WBC all - tournament teams. Catcher Austin Wells (Dominica), first baseman Luis Arraez (Venezuela), second baseman Bryce Turang (USA), third baseman Michael Garcia (Venezuela), shortstop Ezekiel Tova (Venezuela), outfielder Roman Anthony (USA), Fernando Tatis Jr. (Dominica), Dante Nori (Italy), designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (Japan), pitchers Paul Skins, Logan Webb (USA), and Aaron Nola (Italy).

2026 WBC All-Star Team. /Photo = Tokin Baseball official SNS Source
2026 WBC All-Star Team. /Photo = Tokin Baseball official SNS Source

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*This content was translated by AI.

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