Chapter 610 – Episode 597. The World’s Strongest. (1)

-Korea advanced to the finals once again! Who is that opponent?

… After finishing second in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, the Korean baseball team, which announced a new golden age for Korean baseball by winning the 2023 Asian Games and the 2024 LA Olympics, once again reached the finals in the 2026 World Baseball Classic…

Meanwhile, the opponent that South Korea will face will be decided in today’s match between Japan and the United States. … The Korean baseball team has a history of winning the 2023 WBC by defeating Japan in the semifinals and losing to the United States in the final, and finishing as runners-up, and at the 2024 Olympics, defeating the United States in the semifinals and then defeating Japan in the final.

┗Okay, then we are the only ones who have advanced to the finals of three consecutive international competitions hahas. Isn’t Korea the best in baseball at this level?

┗┗ㄹㅇㅋ The league is a bit lacking, but we seem to be superior in the national team.

┗┗Honestly, in the past, not many major-leaguers participated, but these days, all of them are participating, so I think it’s safe to say that they are the best.

┗Who should come up this time? We defeated them all at least once, but is Japan still better?

┗┗ㅇㅇ Japan seems to be better

┗┗If you come to Japan, who will be the starter? Otani is in the top four

┗┗Probably Yamamoto?

┗┗Do you think everyone in the U.S. Will be able to start today except for Snell? Call is likely. Trilling, last year’s AL Cy Young, could also appear.

┗┗Fuck, Yamamoto and Cole are both tough. How did we win against those bastards?

┗┗Ji Maeng-ho carried it haha

┗┗Ah… Is it you again… The only salvation of Korean baseball… ㅇㅅㅁㅎㅅ,,,

-The United States defeated Japan in the semifinals and advanced to the finals!

… The world’s strongest team, the United States, defeated Japan 7:4 and advanced to the finals. … This match is the final match between Korea and the United States once again since the 2023 World Baseball Classic. In the semifinals of the Olympic Games, Korea defeated the United States and advanced to the finals.

… The United States dreams of revenge for the semifinals of the last Olympics, and South Korea dreams of revenge for the last WBC finals. Many baseball fans are paying attention to which country will be able to successfully avenge the previous tournaments…

… South Korea announced Jang Woo-joo as their starter for the finals, and the United States announced Gerrit Cole as their starter…

┗Wow, it was a great matchㄷㄷ

┗Keu… This is baseball haha

┗Fucked. How do you beat those bastards lol

┗Korea Emergency!!

┗Wow Shiba Call

┗┗I messed up the call the other day haha

┗┗I didn’t shut down Cole, I just got excited and ruined it. Haha. If Meng Hosin hadn’t provoked me, I think Cole would have been shut out, right?

┗┗Ah… Is it you again? ㅇㅅㅁㅎㅅ

*

2025 was a year to commemorate in the history of Korean baseball.

Ko Young-hwan spent a year as the closer for the Minnesota Twins, while Joo Seung-cheol, who debuted in the major league through posting, was named National League Rookie of the Year.

In particular, being named Rookie of the Year meant that he had the most notable performance among players who debuted that year, and even considering that he was a rookie, Joo Seung-cheol’s performance was worthy of being ranked as the second or third center fielder in the National League, following Acuña Jr., The best center fielder in the Major League. It made the hearts of Korean baseball fans race.

Joo Seung-cheol’s performance was a slash line of 0.285/0.346/0.513/0.859, a classic record of 28 home runs and 33 stolen bases, and a WAR in the mid-5 range. As Joo Seung-cheol’s Rookie of the Year award and record show, it was rare for a player to perform at that level in the major leagues.

However, saying that it is rare means that there are such players. And the place where such players gathered was the U.S. National baseball team.

“And… “That’s a major league record, right?”

“So it’s a minor record for the U.S. Team?”

Therefore, for pre-game power analysis, the national team players, who are looking at the last season’s records of batters expected to be in the US starting lineup, look dumbfounded at the records of American batters who are better than Joo Seung-cheol, one of the prides of Korean baseball. There was.

1. Bets/RF 0.315/0.399/0.558/0.957 33HR 23SB

2. Trout/CF 0.291/0.403/0.535/0.938 36HR 7SB

3. Tucker/LF 0.317/0.385/0.566/0.951 40HR 35SB

4. Judge/DH 0.313/0.401/0.685/1.087 56HR 10SB

5. Olson/1B 0.301/0.386/0.569/0.955 43HR 6SB

6. Sight distance/SS 0.324/0.391/0.556/0.947 31HR 7SB

7. Riley/3B 0.320/0.371/0.530/0.901 33HR 4SB

8. Josh Sean/2B 0.298/0.350/0.476/0.826 24HR 30SB

9. Lutchman/C 0.286/0.386/0.504/0.890 27HR 8SB

“The only player with a worse record than Seungcheol is second base…”

“Seungcheol seemed like a monster when I met him in Korea, but now that I see him like this, he seems normal. Why?”

The only batter with an OPS lower than Joo Seung-cheol is second baseman Josh Sean. However, Josh Sean was not a hitter to be ignored. And he was also a familiar hitter to Koreans. Because Joo Seung-cheol was a member of the Dodgers.

20-year-old Josh Sean, who debuted in 2024 and gradually emerged as a utility player in all infield positions, pushed out Betts, who changed his position to second base, and began to take the starting position, showing his potential in 2025. He played a significant role in helping the Dodgers win the World Series in 2025 by recording 24 home runs and 30 stolen bases.

As the records show, Josh Sean was a top infield prospect who was capable of playing all infield positions and had the potential to achieve 20-20 with a batting average of around .300 every year.

In addition, Josh Sean performed well last year, but he was still a promising player with a bright future at the age of 22. At such a young age, he even joined the U.S. National baseball team in the WBC.

And, except for Josh Sean, all players recorded better records than Joo Seung-cheol. Except for the younger Josh Sean and Lutchman, the players named in the starting lineup were players that are difficult to describe.

In particular, the presence of Judge, who won the AL MVP last year and proved that he is a hitter who can win the MVP at any time as long as there is no injury, was enough to darken the expressions of Korean pitchers.

“Senior, how did you deal with them in the last Olympics?”

And, Jang Woo-joo, who was selected as the starting pitcher for the finals, was also wearing such a dark expression. Jang Woo-ju was full of confidence when he faced Dominica, but it was not easy for him to maintain the same confidence after facing the records of the U.S. National team hitters while conducting a proper power analysis.

Of course, Dominica’s batting lineup was also composed of almost all-star players, but it was still a completely different lineup with some rest here and there, and even if the players named to the starting lineup were not in good condition, there were hitters lurking on the bench. It was also full of players selected to the Major League All First Team, including Harper, Freeman, and Siemien.

“… That’s right.”

Seeing the junior’s expression of lack of confidence, the experienced veteran Seonghyeon also had nothing to say. He didn’t think he could stop the U.S. Batting line even if he went up.

“First, believe in your courage and throw. From what I felt, as far as courage, he was better at mixing balls than major league catchers.”

“Courage hyung…”

“I’ll try my best too. … As much as possible.”

When the atmosphere of the pitching staff became gloomy due to Jang Woo-joo’s watery voice, the national team’s pitching coach clapped and cheered up the atmosphere to change the mood.

“Now. It’s space. I’m not saying pitch 7 innings or 8 innings. Let’s throw with all our might and block just one turn of the batting line. Because Woosung will be behind you.”

In this final, Korea’s basic pitcher replacement strategy was to put fastball pitcher Jang Woo-joo in front, like the Dominican game, and throw underhand pitcher Jung Woo-sung in the back to disrupt the batters’ timing.

Jung Woo-sung also threw a pitch in the low 150s, and if he threw with all his might, he was a pitcher who could even hit the mid 150s, so it was a basic but effective strategy because he could disrupt the hitters’ timing just by changing his form.

In some ways, this is a strategy where Jung Woo-sung, who comes later, is more important than Jang Woo-joo, which feels like the opener…

“Woosung, you can stop it in just one turn, right? “He’s a major league starter.”

“That’s right. I am confident.”

However, Pittsburgh’s starting pitcher Jung Woo-sung, who was entrusted with such an important mission, answered with confidence, but that was not his true heart. The opponents are some of the best hitters in the major league. If he had been able to face such batters with confidence, there would have been no reason for him to have recorded 3 wins, 6 losses, and a low score of 4 points last season.

I wouldn’t have known it if he was in his prime when he was pitching in the low 150’s and striking out 11 times per 9 innings, but it was a bit of an unreasonable request for Jung Woo-sung, who at the age of 35 has now found it difficult to get on the starting mound. Br〉

“It’s space. Just try to cover 3 innings. My brother will cover the remaining 3 innings. After that, everything will work out because we have Yeonghwan, Wonho, Joonghun, and Suho.”

Of course, he couldn’t reveal his true feelings like that, so like a veteran, Jung Woo-sung opened his mouth to comfort the trembling young Ace.

“Whoa… I’ll give it a try. I think I can stop it in about one turn.”

“Okay. Just like the second half of last year, you had a harder time than the American kids I met at the Olympics.”

And South Korea’s starting catcher Lee Yong-ki, who sensed Jung Woo-sung’s inner thoughts, also revived Jang Woo-joo’s spirit by saying things he did not even mean to say out loud to cheer up the young ace.

“… Really?”

“Okay. “If you throw 100 mph, who can hit it?”

“Brother Meng Hao hit me…”

“Hey, hey. He’s worse than the major hitters. I’ve played against guys like Trout and Otani in their prime, but Maengho is much tougher. Woosung, you don’t know because you haven’t been to Korea, right?”

“Hey, I’ve faced him a few times during training, and he’s definitely better than the major guys.”

“… “I’m sure no matter how good he is, he won’t be as good as Meng Hao.”

“Okay. Space, dude. Be confident. Come to your senses!”

While Korea’s pitching staff came together as one and praised Jang Woo-joo, the starting pitcher for the finals, batters, excluding catchers, were also gathered in the meeting room to analyze American pitchers.

“Gerrit Cole. He is the 23rd and 24th AL Cy Young winner, and this is his selection. Well, there’s no one who doesn’t know Gerrit Cole, right? Last year, I missed the Cy Young for about two months at the end of the season with a knee injury, so maybe I would have gotten a call if I had finished? “I hope my game sense is not good because of the injury, but looking at the performance at this WBC, it looks like my game sense is not bad.”

However, the atmosphere was quite different from that of the pitching staff.

“Cole? Are you okay? “If you just shake that bastard, he won’t come to his senses.”

“As long as there’s Meng Hao, there’s no problem. But don’t throw the bat this time. You will be ejected.”

“Oh, I don’t do that anymore. “If you just go out once and shake the base a few times, it will shake a hundred percent?”

The reason, of course, was Ji Maeng-ho, who radiated infinite confidence.

‘Because I have a fierce tiger, I will do something to get 2–3 points.’

‘Well, even if you can’t do it, Maeng Ho will give up 2 runs, so if the pitchers only save 1 run, you might be able to win, right?’

Because Ji Maeng-ho was not afraid to even against America’s best pitcher, Gerrit Cole, and other batters were assimilating to Ji Maeng-ho’s records in international games and leagues.

“There are many pitchers who will pitch if Gerrit Cole goes down, but the most likely pitcher to come up once Gerrit Cole goes down is last year’s AL Cy Young Award winner…”

Just like that, it was late evening after the semifinal match between the U.S. And Japan ended. The players in Korea were each doing their best and conducting a power analysis,

[Hello, viewers. 2026 World Baseball Classic final. South Korea and the United States. The match between the United States and South Korea is now taking place in Sydney!]

In 2026, the long-awaited finals that will determine the world’s best national baseball team have begun.