Korea challenges the WBC semifinals with the world’s best keystone combination.
The strength of the WBC team this time is its solid infield defense. With the inclusion of Korean major leaguer Tommy Edman, a keystone combination that is rare even in the major leagues, where both shortstop and second baseman are Gold Glove level, was completed.
Edmon won the National League second baseman Gold Glove in 2021, and last year is a special infielder included in the final three in the second baseman and utility category. Kim Ha-seong grew rapidly last year and was named to the final three in the National League shortstop category.
There are many countries besides Korea where major leaguers can form keystone combinations, but there are few places where the highest level of both records and evaluations are gathered like Kim Ha-seong and Edman. 메이저사이트
In addition, the only teams that can make a keystone combination with players who were in the final 3 of last year’s Gold Gloves are Korea, Venezuela, and the Netherlands.
Fewer keystone combinations are made up of players who rank in the top 10 in OAA, an emerging defensive metric. Korea and Venezuela are reduced to just two countries.
Coach Lee Kang-chul of the national team selected a number of pitchers with excellent ground ball induction skills, such as Jung Woo-young (LG) and Ko Young-pyo (kt), in order to revive the solid infield defense. We plan to advance to the quarterfinals, which is our goal by reducing the number of runs.