'AG 5-peat' Gold Medal Deserves Applause, However... The Cold Reality Facing '100% Pro' Korean Baseball [Aichi Nagoya AG]

*This content was translated by AI.

The South Korean national baseball team, led by manager Ryu Ji-hyun (55), has built a golden tower of five consecutive Asian Games (AG) gold medals after much hardship. However, in the process, Korean baseball also had to face a cold reality.

The South Korean national baseball team, led by manager Ryu Ji-hyun (55), defeated Japan 3-1 in the final of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at Toyohashi Citizens Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on the 27th.

This marks five consecutive championships starting from Guangzhou 2010, Incheon 2014, Jakarta-Palembang 2018, and the Hangzhou 2022 tournament held in 2023. They also set a record of their seventh all-time gold medal at the Asian Games. The 16 draftees included in the national team will receive military service benefits.

The path was not smooth, making the victory even more meaningful. Korea was pushed to the brink after suffering a complete defeat 0-5 against Japan in the Super Round, but they advanced to the final by defeating China 9-2. Against Japan, whom they met again just two days later, Kwak Bin (27, Doosan Bears) held them to one run over 6⅓ innings, and Kim Do-young (23, KIA Tigers) and Moon Bo-kyung (26, LG Twins) hit sacrifice flies in the 8th inning with the score tied 1-1, finally achieving revenge.

Manager Ryu immediately after the victory said, "Gold medals in short tournaments like major international events or the Asian Games do not come easily. I want to praise the players for overcoming mental pressure and winning the gold medal," applauding the team.

That applause is certainly well-deserved. However, it is now necessary to also look back at the scenes left behind the gold medal. Korea set a principle of selecting players under 25 years old or in their fourth year of professional debut to give international tournament experience to young players during the selection process for the Lee Beon (CEO) team. This included all players born in 2001 regardless of birthday, and added three wildcards aged 29 or younger: Kwak Bin, Noh Si-hwan (26, Hanwha Eagles), and Moon Bo-kyung. There was clearly a difference from the Seong In (CEO) team.

Nevertheless, all 24 members were professional players belonging to the KBO League. There was not a single overseas player or amateur. This differed from the starting lineup of major competing nations in this tournament. Japan composed all 24 members with corporate baseball players who are not NPB players. It was the 'Samurai Japan Corporate Representative,' which separately selected players playing for JR, Toyota Motor, ENEOS, Nippon Steel, JFE, and others.

Taiwan also formed its national team by mixing professional and industrial league players. While there were overseas players like Wang Yencheng (25, Hanwha Eagles) playing in the KBO League and Lin Wei-min (23, Arizona Diamondbacks) in the MLB minor leagues, as well as CPBL players, a significant number of players came from industrial teams such as Taiwan Power Company and Joint Savings Bank. The starting pitcher Lin Yi-wei (20, Taiwan Joint Savings Bank), whom Korea faced in their group stage opener, was also an industrial league pitcher with no professional experience.

Of course, it would be inappropriate to view Japanese corporate baseball at the same level as general workplace amateur baseball clubs in Korea. These are elite players who receive specialized training at Japanese company teams and compete in national tournaments, similar to Korea's past industrial league system, and some of the top players are even drafted by NPB.

Even taking that into account, Korea cannot afford to be complacent. In the Super Round, they were held to just four hits over seven innings by Japanese starter Higu Shin (24, Oji), failing to even reach second base and losing 0-5. In the final, they managed only one run against Higuuchi, who had pitched again just two days prior, until the 6th inning.

There are separate numbers that need to be viewed more coldly. Korea has suffered an 11-game losing streak (including one tie) against Japan in international competitions featuring professional players since their 4-3 victory over Japan in the WBSC (World Baseball Softball Confederation) Premier12 semi-finals in 2015, up until March of this year's 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC). Defeating Japan in this Asian Games final does not mean that gap has disappeared.

The five-peat at the Asian Games is a precious result preserved by Korean baseball. Young players experienced the pressure of short tournaments with gold medals on the line, and went through the process of meeting and defeating Japan again in the final after having suffered a complete defeat against them once before.

What is needed now is not to be satisfied with that gold medal. The gold medal won in a tournament featuring corporate representatives and mixed professional-industrial league teams is a separate issue from the competitiveness confirmed at the WBC and Premier12, where the world's best players gather. While fully enjoying the joy of the five-peat, we must also look at the other number: the 11th-game losing streak in Korea-Japan matchups.

This is why even though the end of this tournament was a gold medal, it does not mean that all the homework Korean baseball needs to solve has been completed.

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*This content was translated by AI.