South Korea national baseball team

South Korea national baseball team
Information
Country	South Korea
Federation	Korea Baseball Softball Association
Confederation	Baseball Federation of Asia
Manager	Ryu Joong-il (2022–present)
Captain	Song Sung-mun
WBSC ranking
Current	4 (18 December 2023)[1]
Highest	2 (first in August 2021)
Lowest	8 (first in December 2014)
Uniforms
World Baseball Classic
Appearances	5 (first in 2006)
Best result	2nd (2009)
Olympic Games
Appearances	4 (first in 1996)
Best result	Gold: 1 - 2008
WBSC Premier12
Appearances	2 (first in 2015)
Best result	1st (1 time, in 2015)
World Cup
Appearances	14 (first in 1976)
Best result	1st (1982)
Intercontinental Cup
Appearances	14 (first in 1975)
Best result	1st (1977)
Asian Games
Appearances	7 (first in 1994)
Best result	1st (5: 1998, 2002, 2010, 2014, 2018) 2023)
Asian Championship
Appearances	27 (first in 1954)
Best result	1st (8: 1963, 1971, 1975, 1983, 1989, 1997, 1999, 2015)

The South Korean national baseball team (Korean: 대한민국 야구 국가대표팀), also known as the Blue Wave (Korean: 푸른물결), is the national baseball team of South Korea. It has participated in every edition of the World Baseball Classic (WBC), reaching the finals in 2009, and won the WBSC Premier12 in 2015. South Korea also hosted and won the Baseball World Cup in 1982, and has participated in several Summer Olympic Games (winning gold over Cuba in 2008).

Currently, South Korean baseball is ranked fiftth in the WBSC World Rankings. South Korea's main rival is Japan, which it has met in several WBC, Olympic, and Asian Baseball Championship games.

The following is a list of professional baseball match results currently active in the latest version of the WBSC World Rankings, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.^[2]

Legend

  Win   Lose   Void or postponed   Fixture

Asian Championship GS	October 14	South Korea	4–5 (F/10)	China	Taichung Stadium, Taiwan
	12:00 NST		Boxscore		Attendance: 200

Asian Championship GS	October 15	Pakistan	1–12 (F/7)	South Korea	Douliu Stadium, Taiwan
	12:00 NST		Boxscore		Attendance: 350

Asian Championship GS	October 16	Philippines	2–12 (F/7)	South Korea	Douliu Stadium, Taiwan
	12:00 NST		Boxscore		Attendance: 166

Asian Championship SR	October 18	South Korea	1–7	Chinese Taipei	Taichung Stadium, Taiwan
	18:30 NST		Boxscore		Attendance: 1,250

Asian Championship SR	October 19	South Korea	3–11	Japan	Taichung Stadium, Taiwan
	12:00 NST		Boxscore		Attendance: 362

Asian Championship 3rd	October 20	South Korea	6–8	China	Taichung Stadium, Taiwan
	12:00 NST		Boxscore		Attendance: 0

WBSC Premier12 GS	November 6	Australia	0–5	South Korea	Gocheok Dome, South Korea
	19:00 KST		Boxscore		Attendance: 5,899

WBSC Premier12 GS	November 7	South Korea	3–1	Canada	Gocheok Dome, South Korea
	19:00 KST		Boxscore		Attendance: 6,000

WBSC Premier12 GS	November 8	Cuba	0–7	South Korea	Gocheok Dome, South Korea
	19:00 KST		Boxscore		Attendance: 13,600

WBSC Premier12 SR	November 11	United States	1–5	South Korea	Tokyo Dome, Japan
	19:00 JT		Boxscore		Attendance: 3,012

WBSC Premier12 SR	November 12	Chinese Taipei	7–0	South Korea	ZOZO Marine Stadium, Japan
	19:00 JT		Boxscore		Attendance: 4,056

WBSC Premier12 SR	November 15	Mexico	3–7	South Korea	Tokyo Dome, Japan
	19:00 JT		Boxscore		Attendance: 5,121

WBSC Premier12 SR	November 16	South Korea	8–10	Japan	Tokyo Dome, Japan
	19:00 JT		Boxscore		Attendance: 44,224

WBSC Premier12 F	November 17	South Korea	3–5	Japan	Tokyo Dome, Japan
	19:00 JT		Boxscore		Attendance: 44,960

Summer Olympics GS	July 29	Israel	5–6 (F/10)	South Korea	Yokohama Stadium, Japan
	19:00 JT	LP: Jeremy Bleich HR: Ian Kinsler (1), Ryan Lavarnway (2)	Boxscore	WP: Oh Seung-hwan HR: Oh Ji-hwan (1), Lee Jung-hoo (1), Hyun-soo Kim (1)	Attendance: 0

Summer Olympics GS	July 31	South Korea	2–4	United States	Yokohama Stadium, Japan
	19:00 JT	LP: Ko Young-pyo	Boxscore	WP: Nick Martinez Sv: David Robertson HR: Triston Casas (1), Nick Allen (1)	Attendance: 0

Summer Olympics R1	August 1	Dominican Republic	3–4	South Korea	Yokohama Stadium, Japan
	19:00 JT	LP: Luis Felipe Castillo HR: Juan Francisco (1)	Boxscore	WP: Oh Seung-hwan	Attendance: 0

Summer Olympics R2	August 2	Israel	1–11 (F/7)	South Korea	Yokohama Stadium, Japan
	12:00 JT	LP: Joey Wagman	Boxscore	WP: Cho Sang-woo HR: Oh Ji-hwan (2), Hyun-soo Kim (2)	Attendance: 0

Summer Olympics SF	August 4	South Korea	2–5	Japan	Yokohama Stadium, Japan
	19:00 JT	LP: Go Woo-suk	Boxscore	WP: Hiromi Itoh Sv: Ryoji Kuribayashi (2)	Attendance: 0

Summer Olympics SFR	August 5	South Korea	2–7	United States	Yokohama Stadium, Japan
	19:00 JT	LP: Lee Eui-lee	Boxscore	WP: Ryder Ryan HR: Jamie Westbrook	Attendance: 0

Summer Olympics 3rd	August 7	Dominican Republic	10–6	South Korea	Yokohama Stadium, Japan
	12:00 JT	WP: Cristopher Mercedes Sv: Jumbo Díaz (1) HR: Juan Francisco (2), Julio Rodríguez (1), Johan Mieses (2)	Boxscore	LP: Oh Seung-hwan HR: Hyun-soo Kim (3)	Attendance: 0

World Baseball Classic GS	March 9	Australia	8–7	South Korea	Tokyo Dome, Japan
	12:00 JT	WP: Jon Kennedy (1–0) Sv: Josh Guyer (1) HR: Tim Kennelly (1), Robbie Glendinning (1), Robbie Perkins (1)	Boxscore	LP: Kim Won-jung (0–1) HR: Yang Eui-ji (1)	Umpires: HP – Ramon De Jesus, 1B – Fabrizio Fabrizzi, 2B – Adam Hamari, 3B – Chan-Jung Chang

World Baseball Classic GS	March 10	South Korea	4–13	Japan	Tokyo Dome, Japan
	19:00 JT	LP: Kwang-hyun Kim (0–1) HR: Yang Eui-ji (2), Park Kun-woo (1)	Boxscore	WP: Yu Darvish (1–0) HR: Kensuke Kondo (1)	Attendance: 41,629 Umpires: HP: Laz Díaz, 1B: Stu Scheurwater, 2B: Delfin Colon, 3B: Cuti Suárez

World Baseball Classic GS	March 12	Czech Republic	3–7	South Korea	Tokyo Dome, Japan
	12:00 JT	LP: Lukas Ercoli (0–1)	Boxscore	WP: Park Se-woong (1–0) Sv: Lee Yong-chan (1) HR: Ha-seong Kim (2)	Umpires: HP – Delfin Colon, 1B – Laz Diaz, 2B – Fabrizio Fabrizzi, 3B – Ben May

World Baseball Classic GS	March 13	South Korea	22–2 (F/5)	China	Tokyo Dome, Japan
	19:00 JT	WP: Hyeong Jun So (1–0) HR: Park Kun-woo (2), Ha-seong Kim (3)	Boxscore	LP: Alan Carter (0–1)	Attendance: 14,142 Umpires: HP – Stu Scheurwater, 1B – Adam Hamari, 2B – Chan-Jung Chang, 3B – Cuti Suarez

World Baseball Classic record								Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	W	L	RS	RA		W	L	RS	RA
2006	Semifinal	3rd	6	1	26	14		No qualifiers held
2009	Final	2nd	6	3	53	30		No qualifiers held
2013	Round 1	9th	2	1	9	7		Automatically qualified
2017	Round 1	10th	1	2	12	15		Automatically qualified
2023	Round 1	9th	2	2	40	26		Automatically qualified
Total	Best: Runners-up	5/5	17	9	140	92		-	-	-	-

The South Korean team playing in the 2006 World Baseball Classic included not just South Korean players based in South Korea, but South Korean players in the U.S. 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.

South Korea competed in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, playing the first round in Pool A in Tokyo. South Korea 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.^[3]

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.

South Korea lost the first game in the first round to surprising newcomers Israel, 2–1 in 10 innings.^[4] They also lost their second game against the Netherlands 5–0. They were eliminated for the second time ever, after their poor performance at the 2013 World Baseball Classic, as Israel and the Netherlands advanced to the next round. South Korea took third place in the pool, as it beat Taiwan in 10 innings, 11–8.^[5][6]

South Korea is facing Israel, the Netherlands, and Taiwan in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.^[7]

In January 2020, the WBC announced the 16 national teams which participated at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, which included South Korea, will automatically qualify for the tournament.^[8]

Premier12 record								Qualification
Year	Round	Position	W	L	RS	RA
2015	Finals	1st	6	2				WBSC World Rank 8th
2019	Finals	2nd	5	3				WBSC World Rank 3rd
2024

Team South Korea won the 2015 WBSC Premier12 Tournament.

Team South Korea came in second in the 12-team 2019 WBSC Premier12 Tournament, which was held in November 2019. Two quota spots were allocated from the Tournament, of the spots for six baseball teams at the 2020 Olympic Games, with South Korea qualifying as the top finisher from the Asia/Oceana territory (other than Japan, which already qualified as host).^[9]

Summer Olympics record								Qualification
Year	Round	Position	W	L	RS	RA
1984	Finals	4th [a]	2	3	12	17		1982 Amateur World Series
1988	Finals	4th [a]	2	3	11	19		Qualified as Host
1992	did not qualify							1987 Asian Baseball Championship
1996	Preliminary	8th	1	6	40	59		1995 Asian Baseball Championship
2000	Finals	3rd	5	4	45	30		1999 Asian Baseball Championship
2004	did not qualify							2003 Asian Baseball Championship
2008	Finals	1st	9	0	50	26		2007 Asian Baseball Championship Final Qualifying Tournament
2020	Bronze medal game	4th	3	4	33	35		2019 WBSC Premier12
2028
Total [b]	4/6		18	14	168	150

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.^{[10][11][12][13]}

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.^[14]

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.^[15]

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.^[16][17]

Asian Games record
Year	Position	W	L		# of teams
1994	2nd	3	1		6
1998	1st	6	0		6
2002	1st	6	0		5
2006	3rd	3	2		6
2010	1st	5	0		8
2014	1st	5	0		8
2018	1st	5	1		10
2022	1st	5	1		9

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 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.^[18]

Asian Baseball Championship

The following players were called up to participate in the 2023 World Baseball Classic:

Manager

Lee Kang-chul

Coaches

Kim Ki-tai, Jong Hyun-wook, Kim Min-jae, Kim Min-ho, Bae Young-soo, Shim Jae-hak, Jin Kab-yong

Player	Pos.	DOB and age	Team	League	Birthplace
Go Woo-suk	P	August 6, 1998 (age 24)	LG Twins	KBO League	Incheon
Gwak Been	P	May 28, 1999 (age 23)	Doosan Bears	KBO League	Seoul
Jeong Cheol-won	P	(1999-03-27)March 27, 1999 (aged 23)	Doosan Bears	KBO League	Yongin
Jung Woo-young	P	(1999-08-19)August 19, 1999 (aged 23)	LG Twins	KBO League	Gapyeong
Kim Kwang-hyun	P	July 22, 1988 (age 34)	SSG Landers	KBO League	Seoul
Kim Won-jung	P	(1993-06-14)June 14, 1993 (aged 29)	Lotte Giants	KBO League
Kim Yun-sik	P	(2000-04-03)April 3, 2000 (aged 22)	LG Twins	KBO League	Gwangju
Ko Young-pyo	P	September 16, 1991 (age 31)	KT Wiz	KBO League	Naju
Koo Chang-mo	P	(1997-02-17)February 17, 1997 (aged 26)	NC Dinos	KBO League	Cheonan
Lee Eui-lee	P	June 16, 2002 (age 20)	Kia Tigers	KBO League	Gwangju
Lee Yong-chan	P	January 2, 1989 (age 34)	Doosan Bears	KBO League	Seoul
Park Se-woong	P	November 30, 1995 (age 27)	Lotte Giants	KBO League	Daegu
So Hyeong-jun	P	(2001-09-16)September 16, 2001 (aged 21)	KT Wiz	KBO League	Uijeongbu
Won Tae-in	P	April 6, 2000 (age 22)	Samsung Lions	KBO League	Daegu
Yang Hyeon-jong	P	(1988-03-01)March 1, 1988 (aged 35)	Kia Tigers	KBO League	Gwangju
Lee Ji-young	C	February 27, 1986 (age 36)	Kiwoom Heroes	KBO League	Incheon
Yang Eui-ji	C	(1987-06-05)June 5, 1987 (aged 35)	Doosan Bears	KBO League	Gwangju
Choi Jeong	IF	February 28, 1987 (age 35)	SSG Landers	KBO League	Incheon
Kim Ha-seong	IF	(1995-10-17)October 17, 1995 (aged 27)	San Diego Padres	Major League Baseball	Bucheon
Tommy Edman	IF	May 9, 1995 (age 27)	St. Louis Cardinals	Major League Baseball	Pontiac, Michigan
Kang Baek-ho	IF	July 29, 1999 (age 23)	KT Wiz	KBO League	Incheon
Kim Hye-seong	IF	January 27, 1999 (age 24)	Kiwoom Heroes	KBO League	Goyang
Oh Ji-hwan	IF	July 2, 1990 (age 32)	LG Twins	KBO League	Gunsan
Park Byung-ho	IF	July 10, 1986 (age 36)	KT Wiz	KBO League	Seoul
Choi Ji-hoon	OF	(1997-07-23)July 23, 1997 (aged 25)	SSG Landers	KBO League	Gwangju
Kim Hyun-soo	OF	January 12, 1988 (age 35)	LG Twins	KBO League	Seoul
Lee Jung-hoo	OF	August 20, 1998 (age 24)	Kiwoom Heroes	KBO League	Nagoya, Japan
Park Kun-woo	OF	(1990-09-08)September 8, 1990 (aged 32)	NC Dinos	KBO League	Seoul
Na Sung-bum	OF	October 3, 1989 (age 33)	Kia Tigers	KBO League	Gwangju
Park Hae-min	OF	February 24, 1990 (age 32)	LG Twins	KBO League	Seoul

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 7, 1984	Los Angeles, California	0–3	Chinese Taipei	1984 Olympic	4th
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 18, 2000	Sydney, Australia	3–5	Australia	2000 Summer Olympics	3rd
Sep 27, 2000	Sydney, Australia	3–1	Japan	2000 Summer Olympics	3rd
Nov 12, 2002	Matanzas, Cuba	10–0	Mexico	2002 Intercontinental Cup	2nd
May 22, 2005	Miyazaki, Japan	3–4	China	2005 Asian Championship	4th
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 3, 2013	Taichung, Taiwan	0–5	Netherlands	2013 World Baseball Classic	9th
Mar 4, 2013	Taichung, Taiwan	6–0	Australia
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

• South Korea national under-18 baseball team

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