Ex-KBO club manager named S. Korea's advanced scout for World Baseball Classic

All News 16:32 September 20, 2022

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- Former Samsung Lions manager Huh Sam-young was named an advanced scout for the South Korean national team ahead of next year's World Baseball Classic (WBC) on Tuesday.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said Huh, 50, was an ideal fit for the role, as someone well versed in advanced statistical analysis with additional experience as an on-field manager.

Before taking over as the Lions' manager in September 2019, Huh, a former KBO pitcher, had been the club's top data analyst. He was regarded as an important bridge between new age analysts in the front office and old school baseball lifers in the dugout, and oversaw the establishment of the in-house data analysis system.

Huh resigned as Lions skipper on Aug. 1, on the heels of the franchise-worst 13-game losing streak. The Lions made the postseason in 2021, their first playoff trip in six years.

In this file photo from July 14, 2022, Samsung Lions manager Huh Sam-young watches his team in action against the KT Wiz during a Korea Baseball Organization regular season game at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, 35 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap)

Huh's first assignment for the national team will begin on Sept. 30 in Panama with the WBC qualifying tournament featuring Panama, Nicaragua, Brazil, Argentina, Pakistan and New Zealand.

The 2023 WBC will be the fifth edition of the tournament sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB).

South Korea finished third at the inaugural event in 2006 and runner-up in 2009. The country failed to get out of the first round at each of the next two iterations, in 2013 and 2017.

The 2023 event will run from March 9 to 21. South Korea will take on Japan, Australia, China and a qualifying tournament winner in Group B. All Group B matches will be played at Tokyo Dome in the Japanese capital from March 9 to 13.

The first round will feature four groups of five teams for round-robin play, and the top two finishers from those four groups will advance to the quarterfinals.

This image provided by the World Baseball Softball Confederation on July 8, 2022, shows the logo for the 2023 World Baseball Classic. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Tokyo Dome will host the quarterfinal games for the top two countries from Groups A and B on March 15 and 16. LoanDepot Park in Miami will be the site of the quarterfinal action for the top two teams from Groups C and D on March 17 and 18.

Miami will host the semifinals on March 19 and 20, and then the championship final on March 21.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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