Coach Ryu Joong-il, “I Thought About Bunting in the 9th Inning

Coach Ryu Joong-il said, “I Thought About Bunting in the 9th Inning, But I went hard for the Player’s Experience”

Korea lost 0-1 to San Diego in the 9th inning, unable to capitalize on the opportunity with no outs on first and second base.

Ryu Joong-il (60), head coach of the Korean national baseball team confessed,

“I was worried about ordering a bunt in the top of the 9th inning when there was an opportunity to reach first and second base with no outs.” 파워볼게임

However, Coach Ryu kept his promise, saying, “We will play a strong offense in this match against the Major League Baseball (MLB) club.”

Ryu Joong-il

The ‘Young Korean National Baseball Team’ led by Coach Ryu lost 0-1 in an evaluation match against the San Diego Padres in the 2024 MLB Seoul Series held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro-gu, Seoul on the 17th.

Before the game, Coach Ryu said, “Although we are mainly composed of young players,

we are also a national team that plays with the Taegeuk symbol.

Even if we lose, we must fight tightly.”

In fact, the players overcame the ‘power gap’ and had a tight match with San Diego.

On this day, Korea’s young guns did a good job blocking San Diego’s batting lineup,

and Korea had an opportunity to turn the game around.

9th Inning

In the top of the 9th inning, down 0-1,

Korea had the opportunity to get to first and second base with no outs

thanks to a hit to right by Noh Si-hwan (Hanwha Eagles) and a walk by Bo-kyung Moon (LG Twins).

Park Seong-han (SSG Landers), whom Manager Ryu appointed as a pinch hitter,

was pushed out by San Diego closer candidate Robert Suarez’s 157 km/h fast ball and turned into a fly ball to third base.

If it were a major international tournament or the KBO League postseason,

the strategy of bunting with one out and 2nd and 3rd bases may be seen as the ‘standard’ strategy.

However, Manager Ryu ordered a strong attack, and Park Seong-han only hit a hit,

leaving runners on first and second base.

The next batter, Choi Ji-hoon (SSG), retired with a double play in front of the first baseman, and the game ended 0-1.

When asked about the situation in the 9th inning,

Manager Ryu said, “I thought about bunt strategy, but today’s game is a special game.