South Korea made history on Tuesday by winning its first World Baseball Classic title with a 4-2 victory over Japan in the final at Dodger Stadium.
The Koreans avenged their loss to Japan in the 2009 final and ended Japan’s two-time reign as WBC champions. They also became the first Asian team to win the tournament, which started in 2006.
South Korea scored three runs in the first inning off Japan’s starter Shun Yamaguchi, who lasted only two-thirds of an inning. Lee Jung-hoo hit a two-run single and Kim Ha-seong added an RBI double to give the Koreans an early lead.
Japan cut the deficit to 3-2 in the fourth inning on a solo homer by Seiya Suzuki and an RBI single by Tetsuto Yamada. But South Korea added an insurance run in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly by Park Byung-ho.
South Korea’s pitching staff held Japan to six hits and struck out nine batters. Starter Yang Hyeon-jong earned the win with five innings of two-run ball, while closer Oh Seung-hwan got the save with a perfect ninth inning.
South Korea finished the tournament with a perfect 8-0 record, outscoring its opponents 48-15. Japan, which had won the previous two WBC titles in 2006 and 2009, settled for second place with a 6-2 record.
The MVP of the tournament was South Korea’s second baseman Kim Jae-hwan, who hit .333 with three homers and nine RBIs in eight games. He also hit a walk-off homer in the semifinal against Mexico.
The WBC is an international baseball tournament that features players from professional leagues around the world, including Major League Baseball. The next edition of the WBC will be held in 2027.
