As in most ball sports, it is important to adapt to the official ball in baseball. The quality of the ball thrown by the pitcher may vary depending on the surface and condition of stitches. For this reason, adaptability to the official ball comes to the fore every time before an international competition.

Players of the Korean national baseball team ahead of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) must also solve the task of adapting to the official ball.

The WBC official ball is a product of Rowling, the official ball of the Major League Baseball (MLB). The surface of this ball is rather slippery, and the thread bumps are also wide and flat.

For this reason, the general opinion is that it is not easy for pitchers who throw pitches such as curveballs and sliders that require rotation by putting their fingers over stitches.

There are 15 pitchers included in the national team, and there are no active major leaguers. At least, Yang Hyeon-jong and Kim Gwang-hyun have experienced the WBC in the past, and they have careers that have advanced to the MLB, so things are better. However, the remaining 13 pitchers are unfamiliar with the feeling of holding the ball.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) provided WBC official balls to players who were likely to be selected for the national team from the end of last year to learn them.

On the 16th (local time), this problem was also revealed in the evaluation match between the national team and the NC Dinos held at Kino Veteran Memorial Stadium in Tucson, Arizona, USA.

In this game, the national team used the WBC official ball, and NC used the KBO official ball. Officials of the national team tried to make the ball less slippery by putting some mud on it before the game according to official MLB rules, but the pitchers still seemed unfamiliar.

Kim Gwang-hyun, who started as a starter, got 2 hits in the first inning only, and Jung Woo-young, the “King of Hold”, who started as the 5th pitcher, suffered 2 runs while struggling to control the ball.

In the meantime, only Ko Young-pyo, who was on the mound, showed a neat appearance with 1 hit and 2 strikeouts while 바카라사이트dealing with 5 batters, but the pitches of the other pitchers were not good.

Some of the players’ bodies weren’t fully formed yet, but there were definitely problems with adapting to the ball.

The national team won the match 8-2, but the pitchers’ task of adapting to the official ball was once again confirmed.

Kim Gwang-hyeon, who has the most experience in using the WBC official ball among the current national team pitchers, said, “I remember that even if I threw with the same power, the velocity slightly fell.

Koh Young-pyo also said, “I felt that the curves and sliders that rotate horizontally were a little slippery in my hand. It felt a bit burdensome.”

He then expressed confidence, “Considering that it feels slippery, the control is good. The changeup is thrown comfortably, and even when throwing a two-seam fastball, there is more movement than expected.”

Coach Lee Kang-cheol emphasized that players who are not accustomed to the unfamiliar ball should be understood and overcome.

Director Lee said, “Today (Jeong) Woo-young fell because the ball kept getting pushed. (Kim) Gwang-hyeon also said his change-up was missing and his fastball was a bit more curved.” “The pitcher is the most sensitive position to the ball.

Still, he said, “Now, when entering the competition, it will be the case in any game, but there is no choice. I have no choice but to adapt more to the official ball.”