Korea favored to win baseball gold

Host South Korea should be able to take the gold medal in baseball at the upcoming Asian Games as long as it plays to its capabilities, the national team’s advanced scout said Tuesday.

This year’s Asian Games will kick off in Incheon, west of Seoul, on Sept. 19, and South Korea will try to win its second straight baseball gold medal. It recently named its 24-man roster, with 23 players from the top-flight Korea Baseball Organization.

Kim Jung-joon, a television analyst serving as an advance scout for South Korea for the Asiad, said he recently watched Taiwan and Japan in action. The two countries are considered the chief threats to South Korea’s gold medal hopes, and Kim said the host appears to be ahead of the two rivals on paper.

“Taiwan may make some changes to its roster, and there’s more analysis to be done on that team,” Kim noted. “I think South Korea should come out on top, followed by Taiwan and Japan.”

Taiwan’s roster includes 13 players based overseas, such as Wang Wei-Chung, who has pitched in 13 games for the Milwaukee Brewers this year and Wang Yao-Lin, a U.S. minor-league pitcher since 2010 with 107 appearances.

“If they stick to the same 24-man roster announced earlier in August, then Taiwan won’t be such an easy team to beat,” Kim said.

“Some Taiwanese pitchers in the U.S. can throw fastballs over 150 kilometers per hour. Our hitters have struggled in the past against unfamiliar pitchers, and we need to be prepared.”

Japan has built its 24-man roster with amateurs, with no top professionals, either from Major League Baseball or Nippon Professional Baseball.

“Some pitchers can throw good breaking balls, and most of the pitchers are finesse types with good control,” Kim noted. “But they don’t look all that strong. South Korea seems better. You can never be so sure in baseball, but I don’t think the Japanese team will be that dangerous.”

South Korea has been paired with Taiwan, Mongolia, the Philippines and Iran in Group B. (Yonhap)