On the 10th, at 6:20 pm, ahead of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) Korea-Japan match, Lee Yong-gyu (Kiwoom Heroes)’s phone rang. The name printed on the smartphone screen is Lee Jung-hoo. I got a call in a hurry to find out what was going on. The first words I heard over the phone were “Hyung, I’m nervous”.
A phone call 40 minutes before the game. All the players of the national team, who needed to win the game against Japan or Korea or change the atmosphere after losing against Australia on the 9th, were nervous. The same goes for Lee Jung-hoo, who used to hit cool hits with a poker face every game. Unable to calm his mind completely, the person he called was Lee Yong-gyu.
Lee Yong-gyu is a legendary outfielder who has been active for several years with the Taegeuk mark, from the 2006 Doha Asian Games to the 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medal, 2009 WBC runner-up, and 2015 Premier 12 championship. Lee Jung-hoo asked for SOS to him who had a lot of experience. 카지노사이트
Lee Yong-kyu, who met with reporters ahead of the match against Gocheok KT on the 14th, told the situation at the time. Lee Yong-kyu said, “At that time, the players were preparing for the game in the locker room, but (Lee) Jung-hoo seemed to be very nervous, so the phone rang.”
Rumor has it that Lee Jung-hoo even asked Darvish Yu (San Diego Padres) how to attack in the Korea-Japan match. Lee Yong-kyu faced Darvish in the 2009 WBC.
In response, Lee Yong-gyu laughed and said, “I faced him 14 years ago, but I don’t even remember him. I was embarrassed,” he said, “but he talked comfortably while thinking about what he would have done if I were there. I remember liking the slow slider (slub) at the time. He said that he wished he could only think about fast counts and hit them.”
Unfortunately, the Korean national team was unable to overcome the defeats against Australia and Japan and suffered the loss of being eliminated in the first round of the WBC. Lee Yong-gyu, who watched this as a senior in the national team, must have been confused. Lee Yong-gyu said, “I cheered, but it was regrettable. I am well aware of the weight and guilt of the result as I suffered the pain of being eliminated in the first round of the WBC in 2017,” he said bitterly.
He continued, “The players must have felt something. We must work harder and develop. There must be a lot of pitchers who can use those balls (thrown by foreign players) by developing individual abilities or skills, and there must be a lot of hitters who can overcome them while dealing with them.” . I reflected a lot, but I think the efforts of each player are also important,” he encouraged his juniors.