Curted Mead (23), an infielder from the Tampa Bay Rays, was virtually unable to board the Australian national team for the World Baseball Classic (WBC). Australia is the first opponent South Korea will face in Group B in the first round of the WBC. 헤라카지노
The Tampa Bay Times said on the 21st (local time), “Mead, the best prospect in the field, will not play for the Australian national team.” Mead, who is aiming to enter the big league this season, ended the season early last August due to elbow pain. The burden of participating in the WBC is not small.
Mid, who is 1m88 tall and weighs 78kg, hit 13 homers in 76 games last season, going back and forth between second and third bases at Triple-A club Durham and Double-A club Montgomery under Tampa Bay. He had a batting average of 0.298 and an OPS of 0.922. He was recognized for his abilities, ranking 35th overall on the MLB Pipeline’s list of prospects. At the end of last year, he was named to the Tampa Bay 40-man roster and is expected to be able to play an active part in the big leagues this season. He was also considered the most threatening batsman in the WBC Australia national team.
Mid’s absence is positive news for Korea. If Korea defeats Australia in the first round, it will be much easier to secure second place in Group B, which would have advanced to the second round. The burden of a head-to-head confrontation with Japan can be relieved as much. Korea will have its first WBC match against Australia on the 9th of next month at the Tokyo Dome in Japan. Then, Japan will play on the 10th, Czech Republic on the 12th, and China on the 13th.
As the midfield fell, Australia inevitably lost power on both sides of the pitch. Australia withdrew its participation in the WBC earlier after Chicago White Sox closer Liam Hendricks (34) was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of blood cancer.