Tag Archives: korea

WBC Update for 4-25-16: Rule changes, Team USA, Puerto Rico, and what Asian Countries will get WBC Pools?

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It’s been awhile, but it’s time for a World Baseball Classic update!

General News:

A possible change in the WBC rules will be introduced in order to entice more pitchers to play. It would allow teams to add extra players the further they advance, so it could be possible, for example, for Clayton Kershaw or David Price (who both have passed on the tournament in the past because they didn’t want to rush their throwing schedule) to join later in the tournament.

At least two pools will take place in Asia during the 2017 Classic, with one in Japan and one in either Korea or Taiwan.

Connected to that: earlier this year, Twins broadcaster, Hall of Famer, and occasional Netherlands pitching coach Bert Blyleven said that the Dutch were expected to start their WBC campaign in Korea. Apparently that isn’t official yet, but definitely possible. This is mainly because Korea has a domed stadium and Taiwan does not.

While I can’t find the exact tweet/article about it, apparently the locations of the first round of the “main” World Baseball Classic will be revealed on May 10, so presumably all these questions will be put to rest then.

Pakistani coaches have attended a clinic in China in preparation for their qualifying pool.

Players on possibility of WBC play:

Mike Trout says it’s too early to say whether he’ll play in the WBC, although it sounds like he does want to do it, it’ll depend on how he feels.

Staying on Team USA, the dream of a Team USA Madison Bumgarner–Buster Posey battery apparently isn’t a pipe-dream. Although neither of them have said definitively, both of them said they were open to it.

Sonny Gray, meanwhile, thinks it’d be “awesome” to be on Team USA.

Francisco Lindor is excited to play for the Puerto Rican national team.

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Look later this week as I make another projection for Team USA! And if you see any WBC news I missed, let me know by tweeting me at @DanJGlickman or e-mailing me at Djgwriter@yahoo.com!

The Best of 2014- BIZARRE BASEBALL CULTURE: “Mr. Go” is about a GORILLA PLAYING BASEBALL IN KOREA

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This was originally published July 18, 2014. More “Bizarre Baseball Culture” can be found here.

In Bizarre Baseball Culture, I take a look at some of the more unusual places where baseball has reared it’s head in pop culture and fiction.

Oh boy.

I have covered many strange things on Bizarre Baseball Culture over time. There was the story about baseball in 2044, there was the Pokémon episode, the comic where the hero basically uses PEDs, the comic where Billy The Marlin and Spider-Man had to save Jeff Conine from Doctor Doom, and, of course, all of those “Ultimate Sports Force” comics. But perhaps none can compare to the 2013 Korean/Chinese epic that is… Mr. Go.

Yes, Mr. Go. A film much beloved by people throughout the baseball internet for the sheer curiosity factor of those blog posts at places like Big League Stew last year, but rarely actually seen by it. I, however, was able to procure a copy of the film, in the form of a DVD from Hong Kong, acquired from a Canadian seller on eBay. All for you, the readership of the Baseball Continuum (and anybody who found this link).

So, buckle up, because below the jump, we dive deep on Mr. Go. Prepare yourself, because gorilla baseball, MLB cameos, banana-shaped thunderstix, pizza commercials, a bullpen-cart chase and other madness awaits you:

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BIZARRE BASEBALL CULTURE: “Mr. Go” is about a GORILLA PLAYING BASEBALL IN KOREA

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In Bizarre Baseball Culture, I take a look at some of the more unusual places where baseball has reared it’s head in pop culture and fiction.

Oh boy.

I have covered many strange things on Bizarre Baseball Culture over time. There was the story about baseball in 2044, there was the Pokémon episode, the comic where the hero basically uses PEDs, the comic where Billy The Marlin and Spider-Man had to save Jeff Conine from Doctor Doom, and, of course, all of those “Ultimate Sports Force” comics. But perhaps none can compare to the 2013 Korean/Chinese epic that is… Mr. Go. 

Yes, Mr. Go. A film much beloved by people throughout the baseball internet for the sheer curiosity factor of those blog posts at places like Big League Stew last year, but rarely actually seen by it. I, however, was able to procure a copy of the film, in the form of a DVD from Hong Kong, acquired from a Canadian seller on eBay. All for you, the readership of the Baseball Continuum (and anybody who found this link).

So, buckle up, because below the jump, we dive deep on Mr. Go. Prepare yourself, because gorilla baseball, MLB cameos, banana-shaped thunderstix, pizza commercials, a bullpen-cart chase and other madness awaits you:

Continue reading →

Your Offseason Baseball Viewing Listings for November 1, 2013

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With games in Korea, Australia and Women’s Games from Japan, it’s a fun and eclectic mix of baseball for anybody looking for a fix of baseball as the North American off-season begins… or, in some cases, simply suffering from insomnia.

Do you know of any legal (whether they be sponsored or endorsed by a league or run by the league itself) streams? Let me know!

(All times Eastern)

4 AM: Australian Baseball League, Melbourne Aces at Canberra Calvary, will be streamed here, and will have a radio broadcast here.

4:30 AM: Australian Baseball League, Adelaide Bite at Brisbane Bandits, will be streamed here.

5 AM: Korean Series Game 7. Doosan Bears (Yu-Hui Kwan) at Samsung Lions (Jang Won-Sam). Winner wins the series. Will be streamed here.

7:20 AM: Australian Baseball League, Sydney Blue Sox at Perth Heat. Will be streamed here.

9 PM: Japan Women’s Baseball League “Japan Cup”. Astraia (JWBL) vs. Heisei International University (College team). Will be streaming here.

11 PM: JWBL “Japan Cup” Flora (JWBL) vs. Asahi Trust (Corporate Club Team). Will be streaming here.

Your Offseason Baseball Listings (October 31, 2013)

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Crud. Now the MLB season is over. But wait! Don’t worry, here’s a list of baseball games to watch today. Don’t worry, I’m not going to watch all of these. Maybe. (NOTE: I am ONLY using official streams or TV showings, no bootlegs or illegal streams).

ALL TIMES ARE EASTERN

4 AM: Australian Baseball League Season Opener- Melbourne Aces (John Hussey) at Canberra Cavalry (Brian Grening), radio feed. Link for radio coverage will be posted here when it goes active. May also be available with video streaming here (click the game).

5 AM: Korean Series Game 6, Doosan Bears (Dustin Nippert starting) at Samsung Lions (Rick Vandenhurk). Doosan leads 3-2 in Best of 7 series. Video Stream can be found here.

And that’s it for today. HOWEVER, this is a CALL FOR ACTION: if you know of a LEGAL, TEAM-RUN and/or BROADCASTER-RUN place for baseball during these offseason months, let me know on my twitter feed. It can be a video of any language, OR a radio feed of English language.

On Day 1 of the WBC

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Some thoughts on Day 1 of the WBC….

…The Brazilians aren’t screwing around. They very easily could have won that game against Japan had a few plays turned out different, perhaps even had a single play gone differently. This is Brazil’s big coming out party for baseball, and based on the fact that words like “Japao” (Japan) were trending in Brazil, I’d say that they baseball could be seeing the emergence of a new market.

…Korea is in trouble. The Netherlands is good, and may have won their game against Korea even if the Koreans could hit a lick or didn’t have four errors. But the fact that Korea was so impotent at the plate and inept in the field made it a game that was far more of a blowout than the score suggested. So now, Korea is a loss away from near-certain elimination and due to face two tough teams: Taipei and Australia. Neither are close to a guaranteed win, especially if Korea plays like they did against the Honkballers.

…Chien-Ming Wang still has it. Well, not the speed on his pitches, but certainly the sinker and it’s patented ability to get a double-play at the right time. Whatever rallies that Australia was able to have against the Taiwanese starter were quickly destroyed by the twin killings. While I don’t think Wang has the stuff for a MLB starter anymore, he could probably find a good niche as a reliever and spot-starter.

World Baseball Classic Preview: Pool B (Taichung)

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Pool B is a tough one. All four teams involved in it- Taipei, Korea, the Netherlands and Australia- all have the ability to win on any given day, and all four also have professional leagues of their own. While the Asian nations must be considered the favorites, the Dutch and Aussies cannot be counted out.

See the preview after the jump:

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Could a MLB team be heading to Korea in 2014? Or the Netherlands? Or both?

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According to an article linked to from MyKBO, there are some talks in the works by the KIA Tigers to try to get an MLB team to travel to Korea to play them in an exhibition game to open the Tigers’ new stadium.

Now, no team is mentioned, although it’s said that it’s likely to be a team popular in Korea. Of course, who knows if it will happen due to logistics and other issues.

What will probably happen- at least some time in the next few years (possibly as early as next year) there will be games in the Netherlands. These games, which will be the first in Europe, will likely involve AL or NL East teams, will be played at a new stadium being built in Hoofddorp that will be able to be expanded temporarily to a 30,000 seat stadium.

It’ll be interesting to see how all of this turns out, especially given the upcoming World Baseball Classic.

Also, the probably-final roster for the Korean National Team at the WBC

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Dan from MyKBO sent this along to me, although I may have tweeted it earlier this week: what is expected to be the final roster for the Korean national team for the World Baseball Classic, complete with uniform numbers, uniform names (because of the commonality of names like Kim and Lee, initials are common in Korea) and the team they play for usually:

Barring injuries or last-minute dropouts, this will almost certainly be the team that Korea puts out in March. As expected, it is almost entirely made up of KBO players, with two exceptions: Dae-Ho Lee, who now is with the Orix Buffalo of the NPB, and pitcher Won-Jun Jang, who plays for the Police team of the Korean Futures League. The Police team is made up of players who are doing their required two years of national service (all able-bodied Korean males need to do military service), and it’s likely that Jang would likely be in the KBO if he wasn’t doing his service.

I’ll have a more in-depth look at this roster sometime in the future.

2013 World Baseball Classic Provisional Roster Analysis: Korea

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While the western WBC teams have yet to release provisional rosters publicly, the

Thanks to @MyKBO for making this and sharing it with everybody on Twitter, as well as making the statistics available.

Go after the jump for analysis.

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