“I don’t want to say goodbye to you guys here.”

The team’s fighting spirit flared up in the sincerity of the command tower’s determination. Some cried, and some strengthened their fighting power.안전놀이터

I did it in the end. The women’s national baseball team led by coach Yang Sang-moon won the World Baseball World Cup by defeating the Philippines 9-5 in the final match of the 2023 Asian Cup (BFA) group stage held in Hong Kong on the 28th (Korean time).

The match against the Philippines was a very important match. The two teams met in a situation where they shared 1 win and 1 loss with the Philippines. Only the winner gets a ticket to the world competition. It was a situation where everything was decided in one game.

Coach Yang watched the match between Japan and the Philippines the day before and carefully analyzed the Filipino players. As a result of the analysis, Yang, who thought it was not easy, held a team meeting that evening.

Manager Yang shared his analysis of the opponent and declared that he would play ‘running baseball’ with active stealing and bunting. The opponent’s strength was poor, but the detail of the infield was poor, so he wanted to run around and shake it.

It didn’t stop at talking about power analysis. One of the qualities of a competent manager, ‘motivation of the team’, was also accomplished by Yang.

Coach Yang conveyed his sincerity to the team, saying, “I don’t want to say goodbye to you guys here in Hong Kong.” If they lose in the match against the Philippines, the national team will not be able to advance to the World Baseball World Cup scheduled to be held in Japan/Canada in August or September. If he fails to participate in the world competition, the company of coach Yang and the national team will end. That’s why coach Yang expressed his desire to win the match against the Philippines and stay together longer.

Coach Yang Sang-moon of the national women’s baseball team climbs the mound during the match against the Philippines on the 28th and gives instructions to pitcher Min-seong Park and catcher Min-hee Choi. Lam Tin (Hong Kong) | Reporter Hwang Hye-jeong. et16@sportsseoul.com

“We are stronger than we think.”

He also recited his own words. Coach Yang said to the national team, “We are stronger than we thought.” “The Philippines has a 55-45 advantage in terms of power, but we are stronger than we thought, so let’s try.”

On the 27th, I heard an example of women’s table tennis, which reached the final of the world championship after 30 years beyond the ‘Great Wall’ of China. Coach Yang said, “Shin Yu-bin and Jeon Ji-hee also beat China’s table tennis, which is ranked first in the world. It is said that he gave strong motivation to the team, saying, “What can we not do?”

The result of Yang’s team meeting was a great success. The players ran around without a break with evil, and burrowed into the base by blowing their bodies. National team pitcher Park Min-seong said, “The coach told me several things at the meeting the day before. He said a lot of good things, but when I heard those words, it felt like something was boiling.”

(From left) Coach Yang Sang-moon, coach Huh Il-sang, coach Lee Dong-hyeon, and coach Jeong Geun-woo of the women’s baseball team are high-fiving the players before the start of the game. Lam Tin (Hong Kong) | Reporter Hwang Hye-jeong. et16@sportsseoul.com

Manager Yang took office as the manager of the women’s baseball national team in December of last year. At the time, she was busy working as a technical committee member for the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) and a commentator for SPOTV.

It was also Yang who gathered the luxurious coaching staff. They called Geun-woo Jeong and Dong-hyeon Lee, former professional baseball stars, and agreed to work together. In this way, an unprecedented super-luxurious coaching staff was completed for the women’s baseball team.

Not only did she lead training, but she also helped women’s baseball both physically and mentally. When the national team couldn’t find a main sponsor, they scrambled to find a sponsor. After the national team training was over, he often bought meat for the players to energize them. Yang’s son often visited the national team to help with training.

However, Yang’s monthly salary is 0 won. The position of the women’s baseball team manager is not a full-time manager position, so there is no salary. Instead, he does not receive a salary and receives a per diem because he only trains on weekends. Daily wages are about transportation and food expenses. Yang shared even this with the four coaching staff. This is because only two coaching staff per day are supported due to the circumstances of the Korean Women’s Baseball Federation (WBAK).

Nonetheless, Yang is sincere about the women’s baseball team. Even after the match against the Philippines, he talked about the growth of women’s baseball.

“I want many people to know that female players are playing with passion even in such a poor environment. I still lack a lot of skills, but I hope that women’s baseball will be known more by winning the remaining games.”

Coach Yang has secured the right to advance to world competitions, but he does not let go of the reins and challenges for medals. “I will not be satisfied with where I am right now and I will continue to play. I will prepare well.”