[WBC2023] “Can you win first place in the Netherlands Group?” Group A’s fierce battle of interest.

The history of Cuba and the Netherlands, which had been under the veil, was revealed.

In the opening match of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in Taichung, Taiwan, on the 8th, the Netherlands came from behind to beat Cuba 4-2 to occupy an advantageous position for the group’s lead. On the other hand, Cuba, where former and current major leaguers such as Cespedes joined, collapsed at the last minute, continuing its WBC jinx.

Cuba was exceptionally weak on the WBC. In particular, as countries with professionalization performed well on the WBC, the evaluation that they were once the “best in amateur baseball” was overshadowed. However, this time, former and current major leaguers and players who defected to the U.S. joined the team, quickly emerging as a strong dark horse in the tournament. As expected, Cuba seemed to be on the verge of winning the opening game as it took the lead with Yadil Muhaki’s timely hit.

However, there were many former and current major leaguers in the Netherlands. As if it were no coincidence that he reached the semifinals twice at WBC, Gregorius and Tromp made a turnaround and firmly maintained the victory. Bernadina, a former KBO League player, also helped the team win by playing an active role unlike a veteran.

With the Netherlands winning the opening game, Group A of the full league is in a quite complicated situation. Cuba, which has one loss, must then meet its home team Taiwan and Panama, an ambush of Latin America. On the other hand, the Netherlands has been able to focus on its home team against Taiwan as it has crossed a big mountain called Cuba. If the Netherlands catches Taiwan, the top spot in the group will be virtually confirmed, raising the possibility of meeting with South Korea, who is likely to be second in Group B in the full league. 엔트리파워볼

But there are other cases as well. This is because there is no possibility that Taiwan will catch the Netherlands/Cuba in its home turf. In that case, the other four countries, except Italy, could face a “bite and bite” war.