“It was the best team”… Darvish celebrates his second WBC win
“It was the best team.”
Japan won 3-2 against the United States in the final of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) held at Londipo Park in Miami, Florida, USA on the 22nd (Korean time). Following the 2006 and 2009 competitions, it was the third championship in 14 years.
Darvish stepped on the WBC stage for the second time following the 2009 tournament. In 2009, Darvish took the mound at the end of the 9th inning with a 3-2 lead in the final match against Korea, and gave up one run, but Japan scored two runs in the top of the 10th inning. He came on the mound in the bottom of the 10th inning and blocked the Korean line-up, becoming the winning pitcher in the final.
Darvish appeared in three games in this tournament. He came up as a starter against Korea and became the winning pitcher, recording 3 runs in 3 innings (2 earned runs), 3 hits (1 home run), 1 walk and 1 strikeout. In the match against Italy in the quarterfinals, he pitched in relief in the 7th inning and recorded 2 innings, 1 run (1 earned run), 2 hits (1 home run) and 1 strikeout.
Darvish came to the mound as a bullpen pitcher in the top of the 8th inning with a 3-1 lead against the United States. With no runners on the first runner, Kyle Schwaber stepped into the plate. In the 2B2S situation, Schwaber continued to foul cut. And Darvish’s 10-ball 90.9 mile (approximately 146 km/h) splitter hit the center wall. 스포츠토토
Afterwards, Darvish allowed a hit to Trey Turner, but he kept the lead by treating JT Realmuto with a fly ball and Cedric Mullins with a fly ball to center fielder. And Shohei Ohtani, who took the mound in the top of the ninth inning, blocked the American batting line, and Japan won the championship.
After winning the championship, Darvish posted a post on social media (SNS), saying, “It was the best team,” along with a photo of the championship ceremony with the Japanese national team, saying, “WBC victory.”
Darvish, who won the WBC championship, returns to his team, the San Diego Padres, to prepare for this season. This is his first season after signing a six-year, $180 million (approximately 235.4 billion won) contract extension.
