South Korea national baseball team

Korea

Country	South Korea
Federation	Korea Baseball Association
Confederation	Baseball Federation of Asia
Uniforms
World Baseball Classic
Appearances	3 (First in 2006)
Best result	2nd (1 time, in 2009)
Olympic Games
Appearances	3 (First in 1996)
Best result	1st (1 time, in 2008)
World Cup
Appearances	14 (First in 1976)
Best result	1st (1 time, in 1982)
Intercontinental Cup
Appearances	14 (First in 1975)
Best result	1st (1 time, in 1977)
Asian Games
Appearances	6 (First in 1994)
Best result	1st (4 times, most recent in 2014)
Asian Championship
Appearances	27 (First in 1954)
Best result	1st (7 times, most recent in 2015)

The South Korean national baseball team (Korean: 대한민국 야구 국가대표팀) is the national baseball team of South Korea, they have won the Baseball World Cup in 1982, and having participated in the Summer Olympic Games of 1984, 1988, 1996 and 2000. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, it won the gold medal in a final victory against Cuba. Currently, the South Korean men's baseball team is ranked 3rd in the IBAF World Rankings.

Tournament record

World Baseball Classic

South Korea World Baseball Classic
Tournament Results
Japan / United States 2006	3rd
Japan / United States 2009	2nd
Taiwan 2013	9th
Medal Tally
Gold	-
Silver	2009
Bronze	2006

World Baseball Classic record									Qualification record
Year	Host(s)	Round	Position	W	L	RS	RA		Host	W	L	RS	RA
2006	Japan/United States	Semifinal	3rd	6	1	26	14		No qualifiers held
2009	Japan/United States	Final	2nd	6	3	53	30		No qualifiers held
2013	Taiwan	Round 1	9th	2	1	9	7		Automatically qualified
2017									Automatically qualified
Total	4/4			14	5	88	51			-	-	-	-

2006 World Baseball Classic

The team playing in the 2006 World Baseball Classic also included South Korean players from Major League Baseball. In the Classic, the team played in and won every game they played in Pool A. They advanced to round two, again winning all three games to secure a place in the semifinals. Upon reaching the semifinals, the South Korean government announced that it would waive for the players on the team the mandatory two-year military service required of all young South Korean men. However, at the semifinals, the South Korean team lost to Japan, whom they had beaten twice previously. This led to controversy over the regulations of the WBC concerning the fact that South Korea had to face Japan three times and that it was Japan that was allowed to go to the finals, when it had four victories and three losses up to that point, two of those losses to South Korea, while the South Korean team, which had only one loss and had already beaten Japan twice, was eliminated from the finals.

2009 World Baseball Classic

South Korea competed in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, playing the first round in Pool A in Tokyo. The South Koreans opened the tournament with a 7–0 rout of Chinese Taipei. South Korea then lost to Japan in a 14–2 contest shortened to 7 innings by the WBC's early termination rule. In its third game, South Korea soundly defeated China 14–0 in a similarly shortened contest, securing advancement to the second round and ousting China from the tournament. South Korea won the final Pool A game by a 1–0 win over Japan in order to advance as the Pool A winner. In Pool 1, the round 2 of the WBC, South Korea beat Mexico 8–2 and then went on to beat Japan again 4–1, securing advancement to the semifinals. South Korea beat Venezuela 10–2 to secure a spot on the finals. In the final game however, South Korea lost to Japan 5–3.^[1]

2013 World Baseball Classic

South Korea competed in the 2013 World Baseball Classic for the third time, playing the first round in Pool B at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan, facing the Netherlands, Chinese Taipei and Australia. The Korean team lost the first game against the Netherlands 5-0, but won two next games against Chinese Taipei and Australia. Despite this, South Korea was eliminated in the first round for the first time since advancing to the semi-finals in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. However, even after elimination, South Korea earned their direct qualification to the upcoming 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Summer Olympics

Summer Olympics record									Qualification
Year	Host	Round	Position	W	L	RS	RA
1984	United States	Finals	4th [lower-alpha 1]	2	3	12	17		1982 Amateur World Series
1988	South Korea	Finals	4th [lower-alpha 1]	2	3	11	19
1992	Spain	Did not qualify
1996	United States	Preliminary	8th	1	6	40	59
2000	Australia	Finals	3rd	4	3	45	30		1999 Asian Baseball Championship
2004	Greece	Did not qualify							2003 Asian Baseball Championship
2008	China	Finals	1st	9	0	50	26		2007 Asian Baseball Championship Final Qualifying Tournament
Total [lower-alpha 2]	3/5			14	9	145	115

1. No medals awarded; tournament was a demonstration sport only
2. Totals only include years 1992 to 2008, during which baseball was an official medal sport.

2000 Sydney Olympics

Since the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, professional baseball players have been permitted to play and the South Korean team that was formed was often called the "Korean Dream Team". This team won the bronze medal.. At that time, the top four teams (Cuba, United States, South Korea and Japan) advanced to the semi-finals. In the semi-final game, the South Koreans faced the United States team and lost. In the bronze medal match, the South Koreans played against the Japanese and won the game 3–1.^[2][3][4][5]

2008 Beijing Olympics

After losing 4–3 to Japan at the 2007 Asian Baseball Championships, the South Koreans finished with a 2–1 record and were forced to seek entrance to the 2008 Olympics via the Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament to be held March 7–14, 2008 in Taichung, Taiwan.

The South Korean roster, for the qualifying, is mainly professional players from the Korea Baseball Organization and is not subjected to the scheduling conflicts that troubled the teams from Australia, Canada, and Mexico.^[6]

Going into the tournament rated by the experts as an outsider, or a dark horse at most, South Korea surprised everybody by finishing the group stage in first place with a perfect 7–0 record. The team began its run with come from behind win against heavily favored United States, scoring the winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning with a sacrifice fly. Disappointment soon followed the next game, however, as China (undeniably the weakest team in the tournament) stymied South Korea for most of the game before the game was suspended because of rain in the 6th inning with a 0–0 score. South Korea bounced back the following day with a tightly contested 1–0 victory over Canada, with Ryu Hyun-Jin recording a complete game shutout. After dispatching their rivals Japan 5–3 in the next game, South Korea finished off China in the continuation of the aforementioned suspended game by winning 1–0 in the extra innings. South Korea then clinched their place in the final four by beating Chinese Taipei 9–8, followed by another surprise victory over heavily favored Cubans, 7–4 (which guaranteed them finishing first place in the group round). The team finished their Round Robin Tournament in style, hammering the Netherlands 10–0 and beating them on mercy rule.

In the Semifinal match, the team was once again matched up against their arch-rivals Japan. The first half of the game was very tight as Japan was leading 2–1 going into the 7th inning. South Korea soon tied the ballgame at 2 apiece in the bottom half, then took the lead in the 8th thanks in large part to Lee Seung-Yeop's clutch 2-run home run. South Korea added 2 more runs that inning. South Korea eventually ended with a 6–2 victory. In the finals they overcame the perennial favorites Cuba for the second time in the tournament, surviving a bases-loaded 9th inning situation with a double play to win the game 3–2, allowing South Korea to obtain their gold medal for Baseball. South Korea also earned 12 other gold medals during the Olympics making them the second highest gold medalist country after China in Asia.^[7][8]

Asian Games

2010 Asian Games

2010 Asian Games Baseball was held in Guangzhou, China from November 13 to 19, 2010. Only a men's competition was held. All games were played at the Aoti Baseball Field. South Korea beat Chinese Taipei 9–3 in the final to win the gold medal.

2014 Asian Games

2014 Asian Games Baseball was held in Incheon, South Korea from September 22 to 28, 2014. All games were played at the Munhak Baseball Stadium and Mokdong Baseball Stadium. South Korea beat Chinese Taipei 6–3 in the final to win the gold medal.^[9]

Other tournaments

Baseball World Cup Year Host Position W L # of teams 1976 Cartagena 6 5 5 11 1978 Rome 3 9 2 11 1980 Tokyo 2 9 2 12 1982 Seoul 1 8 1 10 1984 Havana 5 5 7 13 1986 Amsterdam 2 8 3 12 1988 Rome 8 5 6 12 1990 Edmonton 3 5 4 12 1994 Managua 2 7 3 16 1998 Rome 2 6 4 16 2001 Taipei 6 6 4 16 2003 Havana 8 3 6 16 2005 Rotterdam 2 7 4 18 2007 Taipei 5 6 4 16 2009 Nettuno 9 4 6 22 2011 Panama 6 6 6 16

Intercontinental Cup Year Host Position W L # of teams 1975 Canada 5 3 4 8 1977 Managua 1 10 4 9 1981 Edmonton 4 5 4 8 1983 Belgium 5 3 3 7 1985 Edmonton 2 6 3 8 1987 Havana 6 6 7 10 1989 San Juan 4 3 5 8 1991 Barcelona 5 6 3 10 1993 Italy 5 5 4 10 1995 Havana 4 5 4 12 1999 Australia 7 2 5 8 2002 Havana 2 7 3 10 2006 Taichung 7 3 6 8 2010 Taichung 6 3 5 10

WBSC Premier 12 Year Host Position W L # of teams 2015 Japan, Taiwan 1 6 2 12

Asian Games 1994 : 2nd 1998 : 1st 2002 : 1st 2006 : 3rd 2010 : 1st 2014 : 1st Asian Baseball Championship 1954 : 3rd 1955 : 3rd 1959 : 2nd 1962 : 2nd 1963 : 1st 1965 : 2nd 1967 : 2nd 1971 : 1st 1973 : 2nd 1975 : 1st 1983 : 1st 1985 : 2nd 1987 : 3rd 1989 : 1st 1991 : 3rd 1993 : 2nd 1995 : 2nd 1997 : 1st 1999 : 1st 2001 : 2nd 2003 : 3rd 2007 : 2nd 2009 : 3rd 2012 : 3rd 2015 : 1st

Players

Kang Min-Ho

Current Roster

The following players have been called up to participate in the 2015 WBSC Premier12.

• Manager: Kim In-sik

Pos. 0#0 Player Date of birth (age) Club P 11 Rhee Dae-eun March 23, 1989 (aged 26) Chiba Lotte Marines P 19 Lee Tae-yang January 28, 1993 (aged 22) NC Dinos P 22 Woo Kyu-min January 21, 1985 (aged 30) LG Twins P 23 Cha Woo-chan May 31, 1987 (aged 28) Samsung Lions P 28 Chang Won-jun July 31, 1985 (aged 30) Doosan Bears P 29 Kim Kwang-hyun July 22, 1988 (aged 27) SK Wyverns P 38 Chong Tae-hyon November 10, 1978 (aged 36) Lotte Giants P 42 Cho Sang-woo September 4, 1994 (aged 21) Nexen Heroes P 45 Lim Chang-min August 25, 1985 (aged 30) NC Dinos P 48 Lee Hyun-seung October 11, 1983 (aged 32) Doosan Bears P 55 Sim Chang-min February 1, 1993 (aged 22) Samsung Lions P 57 Jung Woo-ram June 1, 1985 (aged 30) SK Wyverns P 67 Cho Mu-geun September 26, 1991 (aged 24) KT Wiz C 25 Yang Eui-ji June 5, 1987 (aged 28) Doosan Bears C 47 Kang Min-ho August 18, 1985 (aged 30) Lotte Giants IF 3 Park Byung-ho July 10, 1986 (aged 29) Minnesota Twins IF 7 Kim Sang-su March 23, 1990 (aged 25) Samsung Lions IF 8 Jeong Keun-woo October 2, 1982 (aged 33) Hanwha Eagles IF 10 Lee Dae-ho June 21, 1982 (aged 33) Seattle Mariners IF 14 Hur Kyoung-min August 26, 1990 (aged 25) Doosan Bears IF 16 Hwang Jae-gyun July 28, 1987 (aged 28) Lotte Giants IF 24 Oh Jae-won February 9, 1985 (aged 30) Doosan Bears IF 52 Kim Jae-ho March 21, 1985 (aged 30) Doosan Bears OF 15 Lee Yong-kyu August 26, 1985 (aged 30) Hanwha Eagles OF 17 Na Sung-bum October 3, 1989 (aged 26) NC Dinos OF 31 Son Ah-seop March 18, 1988 (aged 27) Lotte Giants OF 49 Min Byung-hun March 10, 1987 (aged 28) Doosan Bears OF 50 Kim Hyun-soo January 12, 1988 (aged 27) Baltimore Orioles

Roster list

World Baseball Classic 2017 World Baseball Classic roster 2013 World Baseball Classic roster 2009 World Baseball Classic roster 2006 World Baseball Classic roster

Olympic Games 2020 Summer Olympics roster 2008 Summer Olympics roster 2000 Summer Olympics roster 1996 Summer Olympics roster 1988 Summer Olympics roster 1984 Summer Olympics roster

WBSC Premier12 2015 WBSC Premier12 roster

Asian Games 2018 Asian Games roster 2014 Asian Games roster 2010 Asian Games roster 2006 Asian Games roster 2002 Asian Games roster

Notable wins

Date	Venue	Score	Opponent	Competition	Final result
Jun 27, 1975	Seoul, South Korea	28–0	Philippines	1975 Asian Baseball Championship	1st
Nov 23, 1977	Managua, Nicaragua	13–3	Nicaragua	1977 Intercontinental Cup	1st
Sep 6, 1982	Seoul, South Korea	11–0	Netherlands	1982 Baseball World Cup	1st
Aug 9, 1985	Edmonton, Canada	12–2	Japan	1985 Intercontinental Cup	2nd
July, 1986	Rotterdam, Netherlands	26–2	Belgium	1986 Baseball World Cup	2nd
Aug 10, 1994	Managua, Nicaragua	16–0	Sweden	1994 Baseball World Cup	2nd
Dec 10, 1994	Hiroshima, Japan	21–0	Mongolia	1994 Asian Games	2nd
Sep 18, 1995	Kurashiki, Japan	27–0	Thailand	1995 Asian Baseball Championship	2nd
May 26, 1997	Taipei, Taiwan	26–1	Philippines	1997 Asian Baseball Championship	1st
Jul 22, 1998	Parma, Italy	11–1	Russia	1998 Baseball World Cup	2nd
Dec 11, 1998	Bangkok, Thailand	13–1	Japan	1998 Asian Games	1st
Sep 27, 2000	Sydney	3–1	Japan	2000 Summer Olympics	3rd
Nov 12, 2002	Matanzas, Cuba	10–0	Mexico	2002 Intercontinental Cup	2nd
Mar 13, 2006	Anaheim, California	7–3	United States	2006 World Baseball Classic	3rd
Nov 9, 2007	Tianmu, Taiwan	18–2	Thailand	2007 Baseball World Cup	5th
Mar 26, 2008	Sinjhuang, Taiwan	16–2	Australia	2008 Final Olympic Qualification Tournament	2nd (Qualified)
Aug 6, 2008	Seoul, South Korea	15–3	Cuba	Exhibition Game
Aug 20, 2008	Beijing, China	10–0	Netherlands	2008 Summer Olympics	1st
Aug 23, 2008	Beijing, China	3–2	Cuba
Mar 8, 2009	Tokyo, Japan	14–0	China	2009 World Baseball Classic	2nd
Mar 21, 2009	Los Angeles, California	10–2	Venezuela
Nov 19, 2010	Guangzhou, China	9–3	Chinese Taipei	2010 Asian Games	1st
Mar 4, 2013	Taichung, Taiwan	6–0	Australia	2013 World Baseball Classic	9th
Mar 5, 2013	Taichung, Taiwan	3-2	Chinese Taipei
Sep 27, 2014	Incheon, South Korea	7-2	China	2014 Asian Games	1st
Sep 28, 2014	Incheon, South Korea	6–3	Chinese Taipei
Nov 19, 2015	Tokyo, Japan	4–3	Japan	2015 WBSC Premier 12	1st

References

1. "2009 WBC". webpage (in Korean). Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). Retrieved 20 July 2009.
2. "Baseball at the Olympics". webpage. Topend Sports Network. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
3. "Korea Sports Council & Korean Olympic Committee (KOC)". website. Korea Sports Council & Korean Olympic Committee (KOC). Retrieved 20 July 2009.
4. "Sydney Olympic Games, 2000". website. Australia's Culture Portal. 17 April 2007. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
5. "The Official Website of the Games of the XXVII Olympiad (Official Website of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games)". website. Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG). Retrieved 20 July 2009.
6. CANOE – SLAM! Sports – Baseball: Olympic Squad Handcuffed. Accessed on 2008-02-16.
7. "Korean Olympic Committee – The 29th Beijing Olympic Games". webpage (in Korean). Korean Olympic Committee (KOC). Retrieved 20 July 2009.
8. "Baseball – The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games". website. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. August 2008. Archived from the original on 28 April 2009. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
9. "[Asian Games] S. Korea wins gold medal in baseball". The Korea Herald. September 28, 2014. Retrieved March 8, 2016.

External links

• Korea Baseball Association (Korean)