After winning a gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games and leading NC's surge in the KBO postseason, Kim Hyung-jun, 24, raised his profile as the "next Yang Ji" and caught the eye of Japan's national baseball team manager. His two stolen bases made the Japanese manager think twice.
Kim Hyung-jun started as the sixth outfielder against Japan in the 2023 Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) qualifier at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, on Nov. 17 and went hitless in three at-bats, but he made a strong impression with two stolen bases in the first and fifth innings.
In the first inning, Japan's first baseman Yuki Okibayashi led off with a walk and tried to steal second base against Kaito Kozono, but was caught by Kim Hyung-joon's one-base throw. Lee's throw was high and away from the left fielder's position, but Kim's throw was very fast. The initial call was safe, but it was overturned as an out after video review.
In the fifth inning, Kozono led off with a single up the middle and stole second base off Maki Shugo, but was caught by Kim Hyung-joon. 먹튀검증토토사이트 Lee's three-pitch changeup was hit low and in for a double play, but he quickly fired to second base. Kim Hyung-joon's throw back to first was caught by second baseman Kim Hye-sung for the automatic tag out.
The two stolen bases must have impressed Japanese coach Hirokazu Ibata. In the official post-game interview, Ibata said, "I prepared a lot of things for the stolen bases, but the Korean catcher's (Kim Hyung-joon) handling and throwing were very good. The pitchers' quick motion was also quite difficult to time, and I think it was my mistake that I didn't prepare for that," Ibata said, pointing to the fact that he didn't fully recognize Kim's presence.
"I didn't throw the first stolen base well, so I didn't expect it. For the second stolen base, my delivery was good, and I think it was meaningful that I caught the stolen base when (Lee) was struggling. I think he pitched well today and will gain confidence," said Kim, who was more excited about Lee's six innings of two-run ball than his own stolen base.
Despite Lee's strong outing and two stolen bases by Kim Hyung-joon, South Korea lost 1-2 to Japan. The bats were silent in the ninth inning until Kim Hui-jip, who came in as a pinch hitter, hit a solo home run. Japanese starting pitcher Chihiro Sumida dominated the Korean offense with seven innings of three-hit ball, one walk and seven strikeouts.
"Sumida's pitches weren't as powerful as I thought they would be, but his changeup control was really good," said Kim Hyung-jun. "I really wanted to win, and I tried my best, but the result was disappointing. "I really wanted to win, and I tried my best, but the result was unfortunate. We want to win tomorrow (against Chinese Taipei on Aug. 18) and get to the final. We want to get revenge on Japan like we did against Chinese Taipei at the Hangzhou Asian Games," he said, looking forward to a final rematch with Japan.
Japan qualified for the final with two straight wins over Australia and South Korea, and the winner of the final preliminary match between South Korea and Chinese Taipei at 7 p.m. on Aug. 18, which is tied at 1-1, will play the winner of the final match. South Korea also won the gold medal at last month's Asian Games in Hangzhou, losing 0-4 to Chinese Taipei in the preliminary round, but avenging the defeat five days later with a 2-0 victory in the final.
Japan, who play their final preliminary match against Australia at 12 p.m. on Aug. 18, are also wary of Korea. "We beat Korea, but we expected it to be a close game," said Ibata. The fact that we scored first gave us an advantage, but it was not an easy game to win." "Korea had a strong pitching staff, including the starter (Lee Yi-ri). It was harder than it looked on the video. You could feel the fear of the batters."
