Coach Choi Won-ho, "Korean Young Pitchers Prove Their Competitiveness in International Tournament After 'Third Consecutive Runner-Up Finish'" [APBC]

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Choi Won-ho (53), manager of the Korean national baseball team, shared his thoughts following the runner-up finish.

The Korean national baseball team, led by Manager Choi Won-ho, lost 1-5 to the Japanese national team in the final of the 2026 Asia Pro Baseball Championship (APBC) held at Tokyo Dome in Japan on the 15th.

With this result, Korea has finished as runner-up for the third consecutive time in this tournament. In the inaugural APBC tournament in 2017, Korea faced Japan in the final and lost 0-7, settling for second place. Then, at the second edition held in 2023, they narrowly lost by a single run with a score of 3-4, again finishing as runner-up. And in this tournament, they clashed with Japan once more and suffered a defeat, having to settle for a third consecutive runner-up finish.

Korean starter Kim Gun-woo took the loss, pitching four innings (91 pitches total) while allowing six hits (including two home runs), one walk, striking out five batters, and giving up five runs (four earned). Following him, Sung Young-tak (one inning, two hits allowed), Jo Dong-wook (one perfect inning with one strikeout), Choi Jun-yong (two-thirds of an inning, two hits allowed, one strikeout), and Park Jung-min (one-third of an inning, one perfect inning with one strikeout) each pitched scoreless innings in succession. On the offensive side, Kim Ji-chan, Kim Ju-won, Ahn Hyun-min, Ahn Jae-seok, and Kim Do-young each recorded one hit, totaling five hits for the Korean lineup.

On the other hand, Japanese starter Takahashi Hiroto delivered a strong performance, pitching seven innings (87 pitches total) while allowing four hits, one walk, striking out seven batters, and giving up one run (one earned), to earn the win.

According to Japanese media outlets including Full Count and Sports Hochi, Manager Choi Won-ho said in a post-match interview after the runner-up finish, "I knew Takahashi was a good pitcher, but ultimately we struggled against his pitching. His command of velocity and breaking balls was highly refined. His corner work, hitting the edges of the strike zone, was also excellent."

Manager Choi added, "We did not select pitchers who had participated in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) or the Korean Series (Samsung Lions-KT Wiz)," stating, "It was good that we were able to confirm young pitchers with competitiveness in international tournaments."

Regarding Japanese baseball, he conveyed, "As for the batters, they used to have an image of being good contact hitters, but recently there are many powerful hitters. I think that is a changed aspect."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original