LG Jung Woo-young, who was selected as the national team for the first time after his professional debut, showed his desire to pitch in every game at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) to be held in March.

Jung Woo-young was included in the final 30 players of the WBC national team announced on the 4th. Jung Woo-young, who won the hold title last year, is a bullpen pitcher with a two-seam run of up to 157km despite being a sidearm pitcher.

He is an extremely strong grounder judo type pitcher because of his good ball-tip movement. The ground ball/float ratio is very high at 4.47 안전놀이터 against right-handed hitters and 4.71 against left-handed hitters. Jung Woo-young took the top priority in a critical situation with runners. 

Jung Woo-young said, “I am looking forward to a confrontation with top-class players in the major leagues. I also think that middle pitchers will have an advantage because they haven’t played against us.”

The United States, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela, where many major league players participate, must go up to the semifinals to meet them. In the first round held in Japan, the national team belongs to Group B and faces Japan and Australia. In the second round, the national team will face Taiwan, the Netherlands, Cuba, and Panama in Group A.

Jung Woo-young said, “I think he can go to the quarterfinals. He wants to meet American players,” he said. “Of course, before that, we have to do well against Korea and Japan. I am confident because Japanese players have many right-handed hitters.” He was confident in inducing a ground ball against a Japanese hitter.

Among the 15 pitchers of the WBC national team, two sidearm types are Jung Woo-young and submarine pitcher Ko Young-pyo (KT). It can be useful in the bullpen. In addition, the WBC tournament has a pitch limit, so the role of bullpen pitchers can be more important than selection.

Jung Woo-young said, “It is rather good. It will help (learn) if you go to a lot of international competitions. He likes to throw a lot. I want to go out and throw all the games,” he said energetically.

Looking at the number of pitches in the WBC tournament rules, the maximum pitches for the first round are 65 pitches, the maximum pitches for the quarterfinal tournament are 80 pitches, and the maximum pitches for the semifinals are 95 pitches. (If the number of pitches exceeds the limit while facing a batter, it is possible to replace the batter after the opponent.)

There are also rules for rest days according to the number of pitches. If you throw more than 50 pitches, you get a 4-day break, if you throw 30 pitches or more, you get a 1-day break, and if you throw 2 consecutive days, you get a 1-day break. When a double header is held, two games per day cannot be pitched. (It is not allowed to pitch for a fielder belonging to the major leagues.)

Jung Woo-young can pitch in every game if his physical condition supports him. The game schedule of the Korean national team is good. The national team will play its first match against Australia on March 9th, followed by a ‘Fateful Korea-Japan Match’ on the 10th. If Jung Woo-young throws less than 30 pitches, he can start both games.

A two-day fight requires a day off. In Korea, the 11th is a rest day without games. It is possible to start two consecutive games with less than 30 pitches again against the Czech Republic on the 12th and against China on the 13th.

If you pass the first round, you will take a day off on March 14th, and on the 15th, 2nd place in Group A – 1st place in Group B, and 1st place in Group A – 2nd place in Group B will be held on the 16th. Even if you pitch in all four games in the first round, there is no problem with the pitch limit rule for pitching in the game with the right to advance to the semifinals. 

If they advance to the semifinals, two semifinal matches will be held: 1st place in the Asian round on March 19 – 2nd place in the US round, and 2nd place in the Asian round – 1st place in the US round on the 20th. And the finals will be held on the 21st. If Korea advances to the finals, it is possible to fight in the semifinals and finals.

Jung Woo-young recorded 13.9 pitches per game last year and 16.1 pitches per inning. When he started, he threw fewer pitches. National team coach Lee Kang-cheol will use all 15 pitchers evenly, and will not put any pressure on a specific pitcher as much as possible. In any case, if he avoids the pitch limit and faces only one or two batters, Jung Woo-young’s will to pitch in all games can be realized.