Kim Do-young shines but national baseball team fails to advance to Premier 12 semifinals

[Anchor]

In the final group match against Australia in the Premier 12, South Korea won thanks to Kim Do-young's performance, but the team has failed to advance to the semifinals.

Kim Do-young showed the potential to succeed on the world stage, but Korean baseball has many challenges ahead.

This is a report by Moon Young-gyu.

[Report]

In a situation where elimination from the semifinals was confirmed, the match against Australia became Kim Do-young's solo performance.

The first score for the national team came from Kim Do-young's bat in the 3rd inning, and he added another RBI with a timely hit in the 4th inning.

In the 6th inning, when they were trailing by one run, he made a decisive contribution by hitting a two-run home run.

Despite leading the team to victory, Kim Do-young was unable to smile due to the disappointment of missing out on Tokyo, but ignited his motivation for the future.

[Kim Do-young/National Baseball Team: "I think this has become motivation to prepare for upcoming international competitions with greater determination, so I see it positively."]

The national team showed its competitiveness on the international stage with Kim Do-young's batting average over 0.400 and hitting three home runs, but they also faced many challenges, including the starting rotation.

None of the starting pitchers completed five innings in all five games, reflecting the reality of a lack of depth among starting pitchers in the KBO League.

The widening gap in ball speed compared to Japanese pitchers and the criticized timing of pitcher substitutions were also pointed out as issues.

[Ryu Joong-il/National Baseball Team Manager: "I think this was a tournament where we lost in the starting pitcher battle. We need to discuss thoroughly and address various issues one by one, including the starting pitchers."]

This tournament served as a reminder of where Korean baseball stands on the world stage.

It is time to reflect on whether we have been too focused on external growth, such as the 10-team system and 10 million spectators, while neglecting internal development.

This is Moon Young-gyu from KBS News in Taipei.