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In an interview with SBS, head coach Lee Kang-cheol, who will lead the World Baseball Classic team in March next year, revealed his plan for mound management.
The key is the 'bee swarm operation', in which young pitchers are selected and veterans are responsible for mid-season and later.
This is Reporter Lee Seong-hoon.
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Coach Lee Kang-chul, who has watched the World Cup soccer team's performance, feels more responsible for the WBC.
[Lee Kang-cheol/KT, WBC
national team coach: I hope that the tournament will serve as an opportunity for Korean professional baseball to continue to become a popular league with new aces and new home run hitters.]
is.
One pitcher can only throw up to 65 pitches in the group stage and 80 pitches in the quarterfinals, so the second pitcher to mound in the match is as large as the starting pitcher.
So, coach Lee is reviewing a plan to start with young pitchers such as Chang-mo Koo, So-jun So, and Bin Kwak, who are new to the WBC, and to rescue veterans such as Gwang-hyun Kim and Hyeon-jong Yang, depending on the situation.
[Lee Kang-cheol/KT, WBC team coach: When it's important, Yang Hyeon-jong and Kim Gwang-hyun block well, and young pitchers lead well at the beginning, wouldn't it be a natural generation change...
.]
As in 2006 and 2009, when 'Operation Mound Swarm' produced good results, we plan to use more than 14 pitchers widely.
[Lee Kang-chul/KT, WBC national team coach
: Since I saw that Darvish has already started playing catch ball and bullpen pitching, my first wish is for our players to build a body that can enter the game right from the day we gather.]
We will go to Australia next week and start preparing for the tournament in earnest by observing the key players of the Australian national team, which will face off in the opening match on March 9 next year.
(Video coverage: Lee Byeong-ju, video editing: Nam Il)