Tokyo Dome in Japan on the 15th. At 11:10 a.m., the Korean team began training for the Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC). Although the Japanese team's practice was in the evening, a small group of Japanese reporters visited the first base dugout of the Tokyo Dome early in the morning to interview the Korean players.
The attention of Japanese reporters was focused on infielder Noh Shi-hwan, who led the KBO with 31 home runs this year and has been recognized as Korea's No. 4 hitter. Japanese reporters approached Noh after he finished training, and he was interviewed through Masaya Muroi, a "Japanese KBO expert" who is fluent in Korean.
"I came here after winning the Hangzhou Asian Games, and I will definitely aim to win this tournament as well," said Noh, who mentioned a Japanese player he remembered playing against at the Asian Youth Championship in Miyazaki, Japan, in September 2018, Kyota Fujiwara (23, Chiba Lotte Marines). A left-handed hitting outfielder, Fujiwara played 103 games this year, the most of any player in the first team, batting .238 (78-for-328) with three home runs and 21 RBIs.
Along with Fujiwara, infielder Kaito Kozono (23-Hiroshima Toyokapp) was one of Japan's youth representatives. "He was a shortstop, but when he played with us, he made two or three errors and couldn't hit. He was a good baseball player, so I remember watching him closely." South Korea defeated Japan 3-1 in that game. Kozono has been playing shortstop for Hiroshima since 2021.
Amidst the jovial atmosphere, a question about Korea's early first-round exit from the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March came up. It was a painful question, but Noh gave a mature answer. "We lost at the WBC, but I wasn't there. I don't know," he said, "but we won the Asian Games and we were on a good run. I want to instill the perception that Korean baseball has become really strong with the change of generation." 토토사이트
The final question was about the most impressive Japanese player he saw at the WBC. "All Japanese players are good. They're all good," he said, not naming a specific player, but he quickly brought up Shohei Ohtani.
"Oh, Shohei Ohtani, he was so cool. "He's doing really well in the big leagues now, but he impressed me in the WBC. I think he's a really cool player," he said, giving a thumbs-up with both hands as he left the dugout.In addition to Noh, Korean team captain Kim Hye-sung (24, Kiwoom Heroes) also had a Japanese reporter with him. "Japan is a strong team. There are a lot of good players in this tournament, so we have to work hard," she said, pointing to Japan's ace Tatsuya Imai (25-Seibu Lions) as an impressive pitcher, describing him as "confident and has good control."
When asked about the giant second baseman Shugo Maki (25, Yokohama DeNA BayStars), whom she met at the WBC, Kim said, "I saw him at the WBC and he is a versatile player who can hit well and play good defense. He seems to have a lot of passion as a baseball player." She expressed her respect.
