With the opening of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) approaching two months from now, the regulations that will be applied in the competition are being released one by one.
The WBC Organizing Committee (WBCI) recently delivered information regarding the rules of the tournament to the participating countries. Compared to the previous competition, there are some regulations that have not changed significantly, but there are also regulations that have changed to some extent. Among them, the most important content is ‘matching’.
This year’s tournament is not the first time that a match-up , which is not in the KBO League, and a match-up that proceeds immediately after the start of the extension is held. A match-up was introduced from the 2013 (3rd) tournament, and if the winner was not decided until the 12th inning, the match-up was played from the beginning of the 13th inning. In the 2017 (fourth) tournament, a game was played at the beginning of the 11th inning.
This year, the starting point has been moved a little earlier. In the case of overtime, the players will play a game from the beginning of the 10th inning. In addition, the game started with the existing runners on 1st and 2nd base, and a match is held with the runner only on 2nd base, like in the Major League Baseball (MLB).
In the KBO League, there is no match-up in both the regular season and the postseason. In the case of a tie in the 12th overtime in the regular season and the 15th overtime in the postseason, the game ends in a draw. The baseball team experienced a match-up at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, but as the WBC aimed to go to the United States, it needed certain preparation.
Maybe that’s why, even if you look at the national team’s entry, 카지노.you can see cards that can be used in matchups. Even if they do not start as a starting player in the early stages of the game, they can act as ‘jokers’ by playing as major defense or counter-running agents.
The key is to properly utilize the 15-man field entry. It remains to be seen how players like Kim Hye-seong (Kiwoom Heroes) and Park Hae-min (LG Twins), who are quick on their feet and have the ability to carry out operations, will shake their opponents in a match-up situation.
Other rules to keep an eye on
A rule that allows a player who has played as a starting pitcher and hitter to continue playing as a ‘designated hitter’ in the batter’s line even if he is off the mound applies to this tournament. As Shohei Ohtani (LA Angels), who is capable of both pitcher and hitter, falls under this category, it is also called the ‘Ohtani Rule’.
Some regulations have changed or are newly applied, while others have not changed significantly. That’s the pitch limit rule. In practice games, the maximum number of pitches a pitcher can throw is limited to 49, so he cannot cover many innings.
After the start of the competition, the number gradually increases. Pitchers can throw up to 65 pitches in the first round of the main draw and 80 pitches in the quarterfinal tournament (round 2). In the schedule after the semifinals, it is possible to keep the mound up to 95 pitches.
Also, if you throw more than 30 pitches, you must take at least a day off, and if you record more than 50 pitches, you must take four days off. Even in a two-day fight, a day’s rest is ‘essential’. This is why all teams, not just Korea, have to think about the optimal mound operation.
Manager Lee Kang-cheol is thinking of a scenario in which young pitchers such as Koo Chang-mo (NC Dinos) and Kwak Bin (Doosan Bears) are appointed in the front and veteran pitchers are put in as middle relief pitchers. Attention is focusing on how the national team, which must accumulate as many wins as possible to pass the first round ‘Korea-Japan match’ and furthermore, pass the quarterfinal tournament.