Infielder Xander Bogatz (31, Netherlands), who eats rice with Kim Ha-seong (28) at the San Diego Padres of the US Major League (MLB), expressed a desire to play in the World Baseball Classic (WBC).
Looking at what the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) said on its Internet website on the 7th (Korean time), Bogarts said in an interview with the Dutch media, “I hope our team will improve and look forward to playing in the finals.” revealed.안전놀이터
Europe’s strong Netherlands will play the first round of the Group A finals against Chinese Taipei, Cuba, Italy and Panama at the Intercontinental Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan.
The first match of Group A between Cuba and the Netherlands tomorrow at noon will be the opening game of this tournament.
The Netherlands is a strong team that reached the quarterfinals at the WBC 3 times in 2013 and 4 times in 2017 when Korea was eliminated in the 1st round.
Born in Aruba in the Caribbean, a self-governing country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Bogatz played as the starting shortstop for the MLB Boston Red Sox last winter and achieved the American dream by signing an astronomical 11-year, $280 million contract with San Diego last winter.
“It’s always nice to wear the Dutch national team uniform because I can represent my country,” said Bogatz.
Afterwards, despite the weakness of the mound, we expected the Netherlands to once again perform well in the gap between several strong teams.
Bogatsu was particularly surprised by the strength of the Japanese team, who are trying to win their third championship in this tournament.
“Look at Japan. It’s a great team,” he said. “When I saw the roster for the Japanese national team, I thought, ‘It can’t be this good, they must be kidding'” he introduced an anecdote.
If the Netherlands finishes in second place in Group A and Japan finishes Group B in the top two, there is a chance that the two teams will face each other in the quarterfinals.
Bogatz said, “There are some excellent fielders with MLB experience on our team, and there are many young pitchers.”
He went on to predict that if he improves his scoring ability, he can overcome his weakness on the mound and perform well in the WBC this year.