The Dutch World Baseball Classic (WBC) national team, which lost two consecutive games to Hanhwa, the lowest in the KBO League, dealt a blow to championship candidate LG. The performance of the Netherlands, which made Korea cry twice in the WBC, is not easily measured.
The Netherlands, led by coach Hensley Mullen, who was the first foreign hitter for the SK Wyverns (now SSG Landers) in 2000, played a practice game against LG held at Salt River Field at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA on the 26th (hereinafter Korean time), 7- won by 5
It was a game that was dragged to 0-4 until the 7th inning, but the charter was turned over in an instant with 7 runs and big innings in the 8th inning. Ademar Rifaela hit a come-from-behind home run against LG’s last pitcher, Bae Jae-joon, on first base, and Zander Biel hit a wedge-shaped two-run home run, cementing the win for the Netherlands.
LG had the league’s highest number of 6 players selected for the WBC national team, and Austin Tin and Lee Jae-won were not at their best as they missed the match today due to mild symptoms of phlegm on their sides. Except for Bae Jae-jun, who gave up 6 runs, the remaining 6 pitchers pitched well. The overall content of the game was complied with, but in the 8th inning, the Dutch rushed.
The Netherlands previously lost 2 consecutive times to Hanwha, who ranked 10th in the KBO League for 3 consecutive years. In the first game on the 20th, Moon Dong-ju, who threw a 156km fastball, and Hanwha pitchers blocked the ball with 4 sporadic hits and lost 1-4. defeated by 15.
Although they lost twice to the bottom team, the Netherlands showed an unpredictable performance as they beat the favorite team to win. It’s just a practice match, so winning or losing isn’t important, but it doesn’t seem easy to gauge the strength of the Netherlands.
The Netherlands is a European powerhouse, ranked 7th in the world. Players from Dutch Curacao, located in the Caribbean, not the mainland, advanced to the semifinals in both the recent two WBCs in 2013 and 2017. It is also the team that suffered ‘disaster’ by beating Korea 5-0 in the group stage both times.
At the most recent 2017 WBC, Holland played an active role on the Asian stage with major leaguers such as pitchers Rick Vandenhulk and Kenley Jansen, infielders Xander Bogaats, Didi Gregorius, Jonathan Scoop, Andrelton Simmons, and outfielders Jurickson Profar and Vladimir Valentin. One player was the main focus.
But now, six years later, only Jansen, Bogarts, and Scoop remain in the major leagues. The rest are veterans with high name value, but past their prime in their late 30s. Valentin, who recorded the most 60 home runs in an Asian season in Japan in 2013, will retire after this WBC. 39-year-old Val Tentin and his same age, KIA outfielder Roger Bernardina, also admitted that retirement was imminent, saying, “I won’t play for two or three more years at the most.” 바카라사이트
Propa, an FA who played an active role in the major leagues until last year and can still sign a contract worth 5 million dollars a year if he so chooses, joined the national team as an additional player. Vanden Hulk, who was an ace six years ago, retired a year ago, and Jansen will participate from the second round, so the role of former major leaguer Pedro Strop, who will be responsible for the back door in the first round group stage, is important.
The Netherlands are in Group A with Chinese Taipei, Cuba, Italy and Panama. If the 1st and 2nd places advance to the quarterfinals, the 1st and 2nd places in Group B will be able to face off against South Korea, who is likely to advance to the quarterfinals. In the same group, not only Taiwan, but also the Korean national team sent a power analysis team to the Dutch game to closely check. The Netherlands continues its practice game on the 27th against Kiwoom, another KBO league team.