Legends of Korean and Japanese professional baseball meet again… Lee Jong-Bum 3 hits 2 walks Dong-A Ilbo |

South Korea lost to Japan 6-10

Baseball stars representing South Korea and Japan gathered together to play a game that was like returning to the “old days.” The players’ passion for baseball has not changed, and their performances were enough to bring back deep memories.

On the 22nd, at the Korea-Japan Professional Baseball Dream Players Competition held at the Escon Stadium in Hokkaido, Japan, the Korean team led by “national coach” Kim In-sik lost to the Japanese team 6-10.

Today’s game was a friendly match, full of respect and gratitude for the predecessors who created the history of professional baseball in both countries. It is planned to promote international exchanges through baseball.

South Korea has formed a starting lineup of Lee Jong-Bum (center fielder), Lee Dae-Hyung (left fielder), Yang Jun-Hyuk (designated hitter), Kim Tae-Gyun (first baseman), Park Kyung-Wan (catcher), Park Seok-Min (third baseman), Son Se-Hyun (shortstop), Park Han-Eui (right fielder), and Park Jong-Ho (second baseman). Lee Hye-Cheon was placed on the starting mound.

In this regard, the Japanese team was led by head coach Hara Ryusuke.

The starting lineup includes names familiar to domestic fans, including Tsuyoshi Nishioka (second baseman), Seiichi Uchikawa (left fielder), Michihiro Ogasawara (first baseman), Atsunori Inaba (designated hitter), Kenji Jojima (catcher), Hirosuke Fukudome (right fielder), Yoshio Itoi (center fielder), Nobuhiro Matsuda (third baseman), and Takashi Toriya (shortstop). Hiroshi Uehara debuted as the starting pitcher for Japan.

Although it was a “friendly match”, before the South Korea-Japan match, the two teams played very closely from the beginning.

In the top of the first inning, Lee Jong-Bum hit a single to left field and second base with two outs, and the South Korean team scored its first point with Kim Tae-Kyun’s timely hit.

Japan tied the score in the bottom of the first inning, but Lee Jong-Bum hit three runs in the top of the second inning and South Korea took the lead again. With the bases loaded and one out, Yang Jun-Hyuk hit a sacrifice fly ball to add another run.

The Japanese team, which was trailing 1-3, scored two points in the bottom of the second inning to tie the score at 3-3.

Then South Korea ran again. In the 3rd inning, Park Kyung-wan and Park Seok-min hit singles, and with one out, Park Han-yi’s sacrifice fly and Park Jong-ho’s timely hits at first and third base gave South Korea a 5-3 lead. In the top of the 5th inning, Jang Seong-ho’s infield ground ball widened the gap to 6-3.

It wasn’t easy for Japan either. In the bottom of the fifth inning, they targeted Korean relief pitcher Bong Jeong-geun, and Takashi Toriya hit in time, narrowing the lead to just one point.

Under the pursuit of the Japanese team, the South Korean team finally gave up its lead in the 6th inning.

Ko Chang-sung, who came on as a substitute, hit a three-pointer with one out and on second and third base, and the team lost the game 6-8. Yoon Gil-hyun, who was on the pitcher’s mound, was unable to suppress the Japanese team’s bat, and the gap widened to 6-10.

The match lasted until the 7th inning, when the Korean team failed to regain the lead and eventually lost the game.

Lee Jong-Bum, who was known as the “Son of the Wind” during his active period, played a “5-base” game with 3 hits and 2 doubles in 3 at-bats, reaffirming his past reputation.

(Seoul = Newsis)