by Danny Hong
| Thanks
for the great memories, Team Korea.
I think I was one of the only people in the world who actually looked forward to the inaugural World Baseball Classic (WBC). Being a baseball fan, this meant an opportunity to watch some competitive baseball, a solid month before the actual season openers began. Furthermore, this had such an international flavor to it, with sixteen teams representing sixteen different countries going to be competing. Obviously, with baseball being America’s past time, Team USA was the heavy favorite; with their star-studded roster with the likes of Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Roger Clemens, Chipper Jones and Dontrelle Willis to name a few. Also, teams from the Dominican Republic and Venezuela were expected to go far, since many of their players were playing for major league teams… like David Ortiz, Albert Pujols, Francisco Rodriguez, for example.
Overall, the public’s opinion about the WBC was pretty grey. Some were looking forward to it, many were opposed to it. No teams really wanted to put their players’ health at risk in a series of exhibition games. Fortunately, telling a player that they can’t go play for their national pride was a lame excuse, and most major players went to go play for their respective countries, regardless of the consequences. To be fair, one player did get a major injury, and will not play for the Washington Nationals this season.
Regardless, I made my predictions when the tournament was about to begin – the championship would be Team USA vs. Team Dominican Republic. Yeah, not very original, like someone saying “UNC vs. Duke,” or “Yankees vs. Cardinals.” But I felt that with the apparent seemingly balanced attacks of both of those teams, they would have the best chance to make it to the finals. Sure, there were many darkhorses to be aware of, like Cuba, but I didn’t think anyone was going to beat those two teams. In the end, I was completely wrong – but I didn’t care. I had no idea Team Korea would be this good. The scouting reports all said that the two teams expected to come out of the Asian bracket would be Japan and Taiwan. I had no knowledge of who would be on the Korean team, aside from major leaguers like Chan-Ho Park, and Hee-Seop Choi. Apparently, neither did anyone else. **
Korea defeats Taiwan, 2-0. The first game of the entire tournament, Korea uses superb defense, error-free fundamentals (this would be a consistent trend), and scored just enough to beat the favored Taiwanese. Chan-Ho Park sheds the role of a starting pitcher and closes out the game to record his first WBC save. That was just the first game – surely, it had to be a fluke. Korea might be okay, but there was no way that they were going to beat the mighty Japanese – with their no-fun, all-business demeanor and fundamentally polished skills to match. Korea annihilates China, 10-1. Seong-Yeop Lee, 1B. This name becomes known to the rest of the world during this game. Granted, the Chinese were the worst team in the bracket, but hitting two homeruns is not an easy task. There was no reason that Korea really needed to bring their A game against the Japanese – they had already advanced on to the next round, regardless of the outcome of the Korea vs. Japan game. That was the thought process of the American in me – the Korean in me completely wanted to see Korea obliterate the Japanese. **
Korea 3, Japan 2. Another Link (Washington Post) Korea shouldn’t have won this game – It was played in Tokyo, with 40,000 roaring Japanese fans trying their best to encourage their team, and discourage the Koreans. The Japanese are supposed to be the better team. They have proved their worth on the international stage so often. They nursed a 2-1 lead going into the 8th inning. Seong-Yeop Lee, 1B. With the count at 3-1, Hirotoshi Ishii throws a breaking ball – Lee (one of the five players with the surname Lee) swings, the ball is gone, and then Korea takes the lead for good. He records his third homer of the tournament, and the Koreans upset the Japanese on their home field, and leave hostile territory with a perfect record of 3-0. ** Team Korea comes to Anaheim, along with Japan, to play the winners of Pool B, the United States and Mexico. I was still not a believer – regretfully, too. I didn’t think that there was any way that the Koreans could match up against the huge bats, ultra-fast pitching of those from North America. But the matchups were going to happen, and I was going to stick with my team, through the thick and thin.
Korea 2, Mexico 1. I would say that this was one of the most exciting games of the tournament, but honestly, that could be said about any game the Koreans played, save for the romping against China. Mexico played tough baseball, but lost in a close contest. Seong-Yeop Lee, 1B. There’s that name again. He recorded his fourth homerun of the tournament, which tied him with Adrian Beltre of the Dominican Republic. His solo shot would be the difference in the game, as Chan-Ho Park closed out the game and recorded another crucial save. One thing I have to say about this game was the audience – being in Anaheim, Southern California, the population was evenly split between Koreans and Mexicans rooting their countries. I’d like to see any stadium have audiences so passionate as these were – Turner Field in my own backyard seldom sells out. Even though Fenway Park sells out every game in Boston, even those crazies don’t go as bonkers as the Asians and Latinos in California rooting on their country’s team.
So with one win under their belt, Korea only needed one more win to help their way into the semi-finals. The United States, hosts of the tournament, founders of the sport, and where the biggest bats and the hardest throws occurred stood in Team Korea’s way. **
Korea 7, United States 3. (notice the shortness of the recap – apparently, the US doesn’t want to be buried too badly) Another Link (Sports Illustrated). Seong-Yeop Lee, 1B, nails homerun number five against the 2005 NL Cy Young winner, Dontrelle Willis. Five would be the most homeruns by any player in the WBC, and his 10 RBIs would be tied with Ken Griffey, Jr. for most in the tournament. Korea plays small-ball with the United States beating them with timely hitting, and yet another perfectly fundamental defense. Oh yeah, and Hee-Seop Choi’s MONSTER three-run homer. Korea’s pitching, despite not being as fast as other countries is smart and deceptively good. The Korean defense stranded I think it was 15 potential US runs throughout the whole game. With this rout, Korea once again finds themselves undefeated, with Japan left to play. The most amazing thing about the US game, again, was the crowd. Angel Stadium in Anaheim, now with no Team Mexico playing, was 95% Koreans. Koreans poured into the gate, which was tickets available at the door, only, to support their team with pounding ThunderStix, drums, and chanting of “Dae-Han-Min-Guk!” reminiscent of the Korean run in the 2002 World Cup. It swells my heart with pride and admiration, and perhaps even some tears to see such support. Korea played its first three games in Japan, where they probably weren’t liked too much, especially after beating their home team, but I imagine it must have been overwhelmingly relieving for Team Korea to arrive in Anaheim to such support that must have made them feel at home, even if they were thousands of miles away from home.
Once again, Korea looks to face Japan, bitter and eager to avenge their previous loss on their home soil. Captain Ichiro Suzuki, a player whom I gave respect to as he broke the single-season record for most hits in a season (262), made comments that made me, as well as every single living breathing bleeding Korean person hate him. Before their first encounter, Ichiro stated that he wanted Japan to beat Korea and Taiwan so badly, that they would believe that 30 more years would be necessary for them to catch up to Japanese baseball. These words were obviously eaten, as Korea beat Japan, in Japan… The playing ground would obviously be different, with the heavily pro-Korea Angel Stadium, but the Japanese were on a mission for redemption, especially after getting screwed out of a win against the United States. **
Korea 2, Japan 1. Another Link (Sports Illustrated) Unfortunately for the Japanese, this would not be the night. Korea wins a tough game over the Japanese, in a game that was not decided until the 8th inning, when Captain Jeong-Beom Lee crushed a big double that brought home two Korean runs, which would end up being the game for the Koreans. Once again, Korea played perfect, error-free defense, and there was one miraculous tag out at home, which boasts Korea’s might D. The majority-Korean crowd was all over Ichiro, booing him at every opportunity they had, which I enjoyed thoroughly. There was a brief scare at the end, when reliever Dae-Sung Koo gave up a solo-shot homer, but Korea was able to close it out. Post game, pitcher Jae-Weong Seo who went to the mound, and planted the Korean flag squarely on the pitcher’s rubber of Angel Stadium. Like a sissy, I think I shed a couple tears at that pride-inducing sight.
**
Japan 6, Korea 0. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end, some sooner than others. After Japan squeaks into the semis with a lot of help from Mexico and an inept United States shameful record, the 1-3 Japanese got a third try at Korea. I dreaded this third matchup – if there’s one thing about sports, its that beating ANY team three times in a row is very difficult. It rarely happens in any sport, but if believed that if anyone could do it, it would be mighty Team Korea. And for a time, it looked like it might have happened, but then, history repeated itself. A fourth time. Byung-Hyun Kim, a cursed reliever who has had stints with the champion Arizona Diamondbacks, champion Boston Red Sox, and now with the Rockies, added one more shameful notch to his résumé of pressure meltdowns. He gave up a crucial two-run homer in the 6th, and instead of stopping the bleeding, he launched a wild pitch to the next batter and nailed him in the ribs. Unfortunately, Korea could not close the wound, and before the inning was over, it was 5-0, Japan. One more homer sealed it for Korea, and to make matters worse, a 45-minute rain delay, delayed Korea’s demise.
Again, the crowd at San Diego’s Petco Park was very much pro-Korean. Even in the rain, the Koreans did not stop believing for one moment. I did not stop believing for one moment. I sat through the boring rain delay, and when the game started up again, the crowd was chanting for their team louder than they were before the delay. Granted, Korea could not take advantage of the crowd, but the spirit of Korean fans is one that should never be ignored. Byung-Hyun Kim’s botched relief appearances include two games where he gave up major homeruns to the Yankees in the 2001 World Series, and in the 2003 ALCS, another crucial homerun to the Yankees. His meltdown in the 6th inning of the WBC Semi-Finals will go on this unfortunate list. I think Korea’s confidence worked against them in their last. Earlier in the day, Cuba felt threatened by the Dominican Republic’s 1-0 lead going into the 5th inning, so they went ahead and put in Pedro Lazo, who would have likely been the starting pitcher if Cuba made it to the championship. Key word “if.” Cuba took the gamble and put Lazo in to ensure that the Cubans would even make it to the championship round, and then worry about the pitching situation once they got there. Fortunately for Cuba, it worked. I think the Koreans could have learned from this situation – after BK Kim gave up the homer and beaned the next batter, I think In-Sik Lee should have put in Chan-Ho Park, who would have very likely stopped the bleeding, and only left Korea with a 2-0 deficit to overcome. I’m fairly positive that once the Koreans fell 6-0 in the 7th inning, even their hope was being questionable. But that is just my overanalyzing what is now in the past… ** Japan would end up winning the WBC Championship over Cuba, 10-6. Japan, a team that placed 1-2 in the second round and made it to the semis because of an offensively inept American team, ended up winning the whole shebang. I will never forget this series of events that put Korea on the baseball map. Just like in 2002, when Korea emerged onto the world futbol map, by advancing all the way to the semis in the World Cup. The memories I have will always be preserved in my writing, my saved bookmarks, and the events protected on the DVR box at my home.
1B Seong-Yeop Lee, RHP/Closer Seong-Hwan Oh, and SS Jin-Man Park, you may hear these names in the near future, playing for a team near you. Pitchers Chan-Ho Park (Padres), Dae-Sung Koo (Mets), and Jae-Weong Seo (Dodgers), remember how good they actually are, and give them the respect they deserve. And to the rest of the Korean team – Captain Jong Beom Lee, Bum-Ho Kim, Min-Jae Kim, Jae-Gul Kim, among the other Kims and Lees – I will never forget you guys. The following are links that I have saved to my hard drive, because I never want these to be un-findable, whenever I want to relive the joy of victory, from the 2006 World Baseball Classic. WBC.com
- Everything going right for the Korean Team Unsorted images that I'd like to share with others.
No intimidation. Thank you, Team Korea. |
