Kwak Bin (Doosan Bears) has helped South Korea shake off the disappointment of the last Asian Games in Hangzhou, leading the team to its fifth consecutive gold medal in baseball. South Korea won both its opening match against Taiwan and the final against Japan.
On September 27, Kwak took the mound in the final against Japan at the Toyohashi City Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, pitching 6⅓ innings with 4 hits, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts, and 1 earned run.
Under the guidance of manager Ryu Ji-hyun, South Korea defeated Japan 3-1, achieving a remarkable fifth consecutive gold medal since the 2010 Guangzhou Games. The victory also avenged a 5-0 loss to Japan in the Super Round.
Kwak held a 1-0 lead thanks to a timely hit from Moon Hyun-bin (Hanwha Eagles) in the second inning, keeping Japan scoreless until the sixth. The first hit he allowed in the tournament came in the fifth inning when Shohei Mizutani hit a double.
In the seventh inning, with the score still 1-0, Kwak allowed a game-tying hit to Yuki Sato with one out and runners on first and second, after which he was relieved by Jo Byeong-hyeon (SSG Landers). Kwak threw 111 pitches, just two shy of his season-high of 113 in the KBO League.
Although he left the game with a tie, Kwak did not earn the win. South Korea pulled ahead in the eighth inning with a go-ahead hit from Kim Do-young (KIA Tigers) and a timely hit from Moon Bo-kyung (LG Twins), while closer Park Young-hyun (KT Wiz) secured the victory without allowing any runs in the remaining innings.
Prior to the final, Kwak also excelled in the opening match against Taiwan on September 21, where he pitched 6 innings without allowing a hit, giving up only 2 walks and striking out 10 batters in a 5-0 victory. His top speed during that game reached 157 km/h.
In total, Kwak's performance in the tournament included 12⅓ innings pitched, 4 hits allowed, 1 earned run, and 19 strikeouts, resulting in an impressive earned run average of 0.73.
This tournament allowed Kwak to finally move past the disappointment he felt from the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games. He was selected to represent South Korea but developed back issues before the first game and did not pitch at all during the tournament. Although the team won gold, he felt a sense of unfulfilled duty.
Since then, Kwak has emerged as a top pitcher in the KBO League. Before joining the national team, he recorded 11 wins and 7 losses with an ERA of 2.26 and 186 strikeouts in 26 games this season, leading in both ERA and strikeouts.
Manager Ryu used one of the three wild cards available without age restrictions on Kwak, stating, "I had a lot of thoughts on how to utilize the wild card, but I determined that we needed a clear ace. In a tournament with six games, we needed a starter who could reliably handle 1-2 games. I believed Kwak was the most suitable player for that role."
As Ryu hoped, Kwak successfully took the mound in both the match against Taiwan and the final against Japan, helping South Korea secure the gold medal in the most crucial games.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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