Noh Si-hwan (23), who has established himself as the cleanup hitter of the Hanwha Eagles and the cleanup hitter of the Korean national team, became the first senior member of the Korean national baseball team to win the KBO league this year. Despite being the team’s first player, Noh established the pride of Korean baseball by playing an active role in the Hangzhou Asian Games and the Asia Pro Baseball Championship.
Roh Si-hwan appeared on KBS N commentator Kim Tae-kyun’s YouTube channel TK52 on the 22nd and talked about many things. He had to talk about the national team. “I was sorry that I couldn’t live properly in the athletes’ village at the Asian Games,” Roh said.
South Korea suffered a considerable burden on its schedule after losing its first game against Taiwan. Taiwan, with all its young minor leaguers, was not easy. Japan, which traditionally sends its national team of social players to the Asian Games, was also a burdensome opponent. Commentator Kim Tae-kyun explained exactly that Japanese social baseball is different from that of Korea.
Noh said, “Taiwan has already produced aces, but we were worried because of the age limit. Still, it was good for me to watch the members. Pitchers were good. I thought international competitions are a battle between pitchers, so I deserved it.” 슬롯머신
The burden inherent in international competitions was inevitable. Moreover, the competition depended on whether or not to receive military service benefits. “I was worried that if I fail to participate in international competitions while doing well in the KBO League, I would say, ‘Oh, he’s for domestic use. Don’t even dream of going overseas,’ but I did well in Asian Games and APBC,” Noh said.
Korea met left-hander Lin Yu-min (minor leaguer under Arizona Diamondbacks) in both the super round and the final against Taiwan. Although the team failed to break the team down in a cool way, batters agreed that it was more difficult to bullpen and finish the game than Lin.
Noh also said, “I thought I would win if I played against Taiwan again. I saw all the aces’ balls in the first game. I thought I could win the title if I finished the final. As I only had to win three games, I called it “magic number 3.” Let’s each win one. The starting pitcher also had two strikeouts in the final, but it wasn’t hard. I finished the game well with good ball, and the result was good.”
In the ninth inning against Taiwan, Noh confirmed his gold medal by hitting a double play by the second baseman, with one out and runners on the first and second bases. “The referee just didn’t catch (the strike), and we are in crisis. I have dreamed of becoming a baseball player while watching the Beijing Olympics. That reminded me of the time, so I felt comfortable,” Noh Si-hwan of Beijing Kids said.
Of course, Noh hoped that no hit would come to him under the circumstances. “I never thought about ‘bring the ball to me’. The ball went to second base and I said, ‘Oh, it’s done’,” he said. “There was a lot of pressure from the national team when I went to the Olympics. The moment I went to play the Asian Games, I felt a lot of pressure. To be honest, I was really worried (about not winning the gold medal).”
The prowess of Japanese baseball was felt by APBC. Roh hit a timely hit in the final, but failed to make the final hit. He said, “I came to respect Japanese baseball. I’m not saying that our pitchers are bad, but Japanese pitchers have different levels of control and breaking balls. They are more delicate. It was very difficult to hit.”
