The Asia Professional Baseball Championship (APBC), in which promising players from Korea, Japan and Taiwan compete against each other, will be held again after six years. There is an opportunity to preview the players who will be the main players of the next national team.
Daily Sports, a Japanese media, reported on the 14th that “the 2nd APBC will be held from November 16th to 19th next year.” It will be held six years after the first tournament in 2017.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), Japan Professional Baseball (NPB), and Taiwan Professional Baseball (CPBL) are the main players in APBC, which was newly established in 2017. Unusually, this competition is limited to players under the age of 24 and under the 3rd year of professional service. In addition, 3 wild cards with no age limit can join.
In the last tournament, Korea and Japan met in the final. The game, which had been tight 0-1 until the 4th inning, turned the tide of the match as Korea allowed 3 runs in the 5th inning. In the end, Korea lost 0-7 and lost the cup to Japan.
Even though they did not reach the top, it was a clear income for young players to experience international competitions. In particular, on the mound, Lim Ki-young (28, KIA) and Jang Hyun-sik (27, KIA) showed hope by fighting well. In the other lineup, Park Min-woo (29, NC) struggled with 4 hits in 10 at-bats (0.400 batting average), and Kim Ha-seong (27, San Diego) also hit the only home run in the team.
And they boarded the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games, 2019 Premier 12, and 2020 Tokyo Olympic team. In particular, Lee Jung-hoo (24, Kiwoom) 토토사이트 participated in all three competitions and was expected to become the main player of the national team in the future.
If the national team is selected next year, it is expected that high school graduates born in 1999 or college graduates within the third year will be eligible.
Looking at this season’s performance alone, there is a possibility that Golden Glove infielder Kim Hye-seong (23, Kiwoom), Han Dong-hee (23, Lotte), Roh Si-hwan (22, Hanwha), and Moon Bo-kyung (22, LG) will compete for the center batting line. is high
In the infield, Jung Eun-won (22, Hanwha), Kim Ji-chan (21, Samsung), and Kim Joo-won (21, NC) are expected to emerge. Geopo resources such as Lee Jae-won (23, LG) and Jeon Eui-san (22, SSG) are also on standby. Kim Hyeon-jun (20, Samsung) and Ko Seung-min (22, Lotte) also stand out among outfielders.
On the mound, Won Tae-in (22, Samsung), So-Jun Sohn (21, KT), Gwak Bin (23, Doosan), and Lee Eui-ri (20, KIA) are likely to be selected as starting pitchers. In addition, bullpen resources such as Jung Woo-young (23, LG) and Jeong Cheol-won (23, Doosan), who were rookie kings, Jung Hae-young (21, KIA), Kim Si-hoon (23, NC), and Choi Jun-yong (21, Lotte) are also available.
In particular, as the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, which will be held in September next year, are also selected under the same conditions, there is a high probability that the national teams of the two competitions will have a similar composition. The same roster can be used, except for the players born in 1998, whose participation is being mentioned due to the one-year postponement of the Asian Games.
Although the composition of the players is different, Korea won the runner-up for the first time in history at the 2022 WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup held last October. It was a feat achieved as a professional backup or second-tier player. As APBC is attended by players in the same age group who got more opportunities in the first team, we can expect good results.