WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: POOL B - AUSTRALIA VS KOREA

March 8, 2023

Hyeonjong Yang

Hyunsoo Kim

Sungbum Na

Tokyo Dome

Team Korea

Workout Day Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Let's start the Team Korea press conference.

Q. For tomorrow, your opening game against Australia will be starting. What's in your mind right now for all three players, please.

HYUNSOO KIM: Yes, I am a bit nervous, as well as I am very excited. We are very well prepared. And all the game plan -- well, sometimes the game plan is not played as planned, but that's part of baseball, so we enjoy it.

SUNGBUM NA: Yes, just before Kim Hyun mentioned, but we are very well prepared.

So we are very excited to show what we can do for the audience. Thank you.

HYEON-JONG YANG: We are spending almost three weeks spending together as part of a family. We are representing Korea and we play our best for each individual game.

Q. Question for all three players. What is in your mind? What's the impression for team Australia?

HYUNSOO KIM: We have a game report, game scouting report. They have a very tough pitchers, and they have a lot of lefties. That's as long as we understand. And we would like to get a win for the first game.

SUNGBUM NA: Every single season, we play against newcomers, so that's pretty much the same approach for the opening games.

Like he said, they have a lot of lefties. And for tomorrow's game, we would like to get a win, as well.

HYEON-JONG YANG: I am the pitcher, so as of the pitchers point of view, they have a lot of power. They swing very sharp.

So that we -- all the pitchers have also the scouting report advanced, and baseball is something no one knows the result. So for the pitchers point of view, I have to consider every single pitch.

Q. For all three players. You three have a very long experience, especially representing Korea and having a lot of international match experience. How big is the opening games to you? Tell us about your experience, please.

SUNGBUM NA: Yes, always, we have to put all the energy to get a win, and it's been awhile for me to make the national team, so I will try to do my best.

HYUNSOO KIM: For me, the first game is very important. A win, loss, we have a lot of motivation, and we all understand that the first game is always played by the very good -- the best player of the game.

HYEONJONG YANG: Like my teammates mentioned earlier, opening game is the very important for the tournament. If we could get a win tomorrow, we have less pressure for Game 2, Game 3. We will have pressure for tomorrow for sure but that's because the Game 1 is so important. That's how I understand.

Q. Thinking about the WBC, previous WBC, or the previous two WBC tournament for the Team Korea, you didn't qualify for the first round because we have two games, both of them, you lost the first game of the tournament. So the tournament 2013 and 2017, you were defeated for the first game of the tournament. So how did you manage and how did you prepare and talk to get rid of the pressure, less pressure, if there's any?

SUNGBUM NA: This is a question for the captain. Well, the game captain, Mr. Kim Hyun-soo, he is a great captain of our roster. And he well-maintained our teammates, so we didn't do any specific special things.

HYUNSOO KIM: Yes, our mental has not been changed a lot. We have prepared well and we have a lot of scouting report. And when we have a pressure, it not only our side. It's also the opponent team having a pressure. So we have to get loose and we have to play well so that we could play baseball easily.

HYEONJONG YANG: Yes, thinking about the tournament, 2013 and 2017, you mention but I personally try not to think back that previous tournament. We want to be aggressive and positive, so try not to think about the bad experience. We have well prepared, so try to do our best for the next match.

Q. Let me ask a very casual question. Your skipper mentioned that you are aim is to go qualify for the Tokyo pool and go to the Miami round. If that happens, what's your plan? What do you want to do at Miami?

HYUNSOO KIM: I didn't have a chance to think about. Like you mentioned, yes, our aiming is go to the Miami round. In order to do that, I am focusing to play against our first game against Australia.

I am not thinking too ahead because if we think ahead -- too ahead, that could make me so nervous sometimes, so I am trying not to think about the future.

HYEONJONG YANG: Not only me but all the players are thinking that going to Miami is, yes, our aim, that's for sure. But we have no plan specifically when we go to Miami. The important thing is focusing every single game, each individual game is very important, so we want to manage on that way.

SUNGBUM NA: Like the other two players mentioned, I didn't have any specific plan for Miami. The result will be changed, so moreover, tomorrow's first game is so important.

Q. This is a question for the game captain, Kim Hyun-soo. You've been representing Team Korea for your entire career, your first game in 2008, and ever since then, you've represented ten times. Throughout your career, you mirror the image of Team Korea's history. What's in your mind, the strong point of this tournament, Korea's roster?

HYUNSOO KIM: First, we were selected from all of Korea's nation. One of our strong points is we have a very good relation among the teammates. And spending more time with teammates, the bonding of the relation is very strong, getting strong, from day one of our training camp, I feel that our roster as one team -- is becoming one team.

In this tournament's roster, we have a well-mixed roster, not only Major League players but also fresh players. We are a very mixed, well mixed roster.