Australian pitcher Warwick Saupold (33, Perth Heat), who played for Hanwha in the KBO League, continued his strong side against Geelong Korea. There is a high possibility that Saupold will appear in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) Korea game as well.
Saupold started the 2022-2023 Australian Professional Baseball (ABL) 8th round Geelong Korea match held at Empire Ball Park in Perth, Australia on the 8th (hereinafter Korean time), and fought hard with a quality start of 6 innings, 7 hits, 1 walk, 5 strikeouts and 2 runs. . In his first confrontation on November 26 last year, he defeated Geelong again after winning a start with 7 innings, 6 hits, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts and no runs. Against Geelong, 2 games, 13 innings, 2 runs, ERA 1.38.
Most of the speed of the fastball was in the early 140km range, which was not fast, but he used a variety of breaking balls with a stable command. He led Geelong hitters to miss swings with his cutter, changeup and curveball. He was stable with 7 outfield grounders.
Saupold is recording 3 wins and 2 losses with a 4.85 ERA in 7 starts in the Australian League this season. On the 1st, against the Brisbane Bandits, he collapsed with 8 runs in 3 innings, showing severe ups and downs. His speed is lower than in his prime, and there is no overwhelming force.
However, Serupold, who played an active part in the WBC Australian national team in 2013 and 2017, is likely to be selected this time as well. Australia has not yet announced its WBC entry, but there was a surfold in the Australian national team for the Samurai Japan Series evaluation match held by the Japanese national team on November 19-20 last year. At that time, Saupold, who started as a starting pitcher in the first game held at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, lost the game with 4 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts and 2 runs in 2⅓ innings. 토토
Australia will play the first round in Group B with Korea, Japan, China and the Czech Republic. Korea’s first match to be held at the Tokyo Dome on March 9 is against Australia. The Korean national team, led by head coach Lee Kang-cheol, is focusing on the match against Australia. In order to advance to the quarterfinals by placing 1st and 2nd in Group B with Japan, which is the strongest team, they must catch Australia. Australia is also in an all-out war against Korea. It is expected to utilize the subfold with experience in Korea in some way.
Saupold, who experienced the major leagues for three seasons with the Detroit Tigers in 2016-2018, spent two years in Korea wearing a Hanwha uniform in 2019-2020. He renewed his contract in 2019 by playing in 31 games (192⅓ innings) with a 12-11 loss and an average ERA of 3.51. The only foreign pitcher from Hanwha to achieve double-digit multipliers for two consecutive years.
After leaving Korea, Saupold continues his professional career in his home country, Australia. He didn’t have a starting record last season, and even when he returns this season, he’s not in his prime. Still, his experience is alive as a veteran. As he is a pitcher who knows Korea well, he seems highly likely to make a sortie for the WBC Korean match.