"Even after 100 years, I can't beat Dominica." Kang Jung-ho made a bombshell → Korean baseball's 'frog in the well' once said, "If you give me authority..."

*This content was translated by AI.

Kang Jung-ho (39), who played in the Major League Baseball (MLB) stage in the past, spoke out about Korean baseball's elimination from the World Baseball Classic (WBC) quarterfinals.

Kang Jung-ho expressed his view on his YouTube channel "Kang Jung-ho_King_Kang" on the 23rd, raising the question, "Why is Korean baseball collapsing on the world stage?"

The Korean baseball team achieved the feat of advancing to the second round for the first time in 17 years since the 2009 WBC tournament. Although they suffered a cold game defeat in the seventh inning with 0-10 showing their difference in skills in the quarterfinals against the Dominican Republic, fans still applauded the players who did their best.

Kang Jung-ho said in the beginning of the video, "I think he is a frog in a well. Even decades later, the Dominican Republic cannot win with such a system. Maybe baseball should change, and coaches should learn," he said.

Kang Jung-ho said of the defeat against Dominica, "It was a bit unfortunate. I felt that the gap (with world baseball) was not narrowing, but widening. Last time, I said it wouldn't be easy to hit a 96-97-mile ball with a lot of movement. It's because I haven't seen such balls. There were also a lot of ground balls against Dominica. I thought about why I was so weak on the world stage," he said, expressing his view.

"The most fundamental problem is the decline in our country's population," he said with emphasis. "Japan is also experiencing a population decline, but the number of students playing baseball itself is almost 10 times different," he said. KBO is becoming more popular, and in the end, Korea should do better on the world stage. That way, more people can see and go wild, and young children can develop their dreams," he said.

Kang also raised the issue of using wooden bats. He said, "Our high schools use wooden bats. Middle school students also practice with wooden bats a lot. However, the body has not even grown up yet. When I hit it with the bat, it barely crossed the infield. Even a leader can't be called far away because he doesn't have power. As a result, there is a swing (that fits the wooden bat), not a swing that fits you. Korean leaders say not to swing full time. Dominica, on the other hand, starts baseball from the age of four, and all middle school students turn full swing. The culture of throwing hard and hitting hard has been formed since childhood. It's become a habit because everyone does that," he said.

"But this is not the problem. Aren't they going to go to the professional league. We have to look at the possibilities of the future. To do that, I have to use 100% of my body so that I can send it stronger and further away. The pitch is the same. You also need to watch your own (pitching and hitting) videos to get really detailed. You should also look at the numbers (such as the angle of batting, speed, revolution, etc.). I don't know why you don't look at the numbers. You have to look at it and get feedback. I have to share and solve the problem step by step, but I'm staying without it. Shouldn't we learn. "Coaches should also learn wherever they go, whether they go to the United States or Japan," he said bitterly.

Kang Jung-ho also said, "For an athlete, we need to see a lot of physical abilities and fundamental potential such as running, hitting speed, and throwing speed. However, Korea does not have such a system itself. The U.S. checks all those parts through the perfect game showcase and ranks them comprehensively based on them. Scouts or university coaches evaluate and take them based on the data. If that is the standard, elementary, middle, and high school students will also build their bodies by focusing on strong, fast, and accurate sides according to that standard. With this system, I think it's a frog in a well for the rest of my life," he said.

Kang Jung-ho continued, "In the case of pitchers, the ball speed has increased a lot, but now we have to have control there as well. Still, however, Korea is only emphasizing speed. In the case of hitters, they haven't even started to strengthen them yet. He just emphasizes hits according to the player. I don't understand why you keep preventing me from hitting hard. So I think coaches in Korea should also do measurements and feedback together," he advised.

Kang Jung-ho said, "I want you to experience a lot of overseas leagues. If Korea goes to the U.S. after graduating from high school, two years must pass when returning to KBO. I would like to have more experience abroad by lifting these regulations. Of course it won't be easy. However, I hope to experience a lot of international competitions, he said. "American baseball is literally a huge competition. Batters are used to seeing a lot of pitchers who throw strong balls of 95 to 96 miles. I think there is a big difference in this area," he said.

Kang Jung-ho then said, "Unless these parts change, I don't think Dominica can win even after a few decades. Decades are something. I can't catch up even after 100 years. "If the system doesn't change," he said, adding, "I think it's a problem that many people have to work together to change. I'm not the only one who can change by doing this. If you give me the authority, I think I can change it enough. I think our country can change it so that more good players come out," he said, concluding the video.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.