At the 2016 World Baseball Classic, South Korea was down 0-5 to the Netherlands in the bottom of the second inning, but the bats held strong and reliever Kim Ra-kyung rallied for a thrilling 9-8 victory.
Lee, 33, who started at designated hitter and hit an RBI single in the top of the sixth inning to tie the game at 8-8, is an eight-year veteran of the national team who has been consistently selected since her first call-up in 2016.
Lee, who is competing in the Women’s Baseball Asian Cup in Hong Kong, will have played in five international tournaments. That’s more than any other player on the 20-member national team.
Despite having the most international experience, she still gets nervous before the tournament. “You can’t be that nervous when you walk into the stadium and the national anthem starts. It’s always been and still is nerve-wracking to hear the national anthem while wearing the flag,” she smiled.
He’s an eight-year veteran of the national team, but the meaning of the flag is different every time. “My mindset changes every year. At first, I just wanted to make the national team, but after my fourth year, I realized that I wanted to show my growth.” 먹튀검증
Catcher Lee sets goals every year. Last year, she focused on hitting, and this year, she’s working on her defense. In her 30s, she’s been working on building her physical strength to keep up with her younger peers. She’s improved every year, and for eight years, one of the two or three spots on the varsity team has always been hers.
“She has really strong shoulders,” says national team coach Heo Il-sang. Her catching and blocking are both good.” During national team training, Lee often uses her strong shoulders to catch runners running from first to second base. It’s not a common sight in women’s baseball. During this year’s national team trials, Lee’s stolen base caught the attention of national team coach Yang Sang-moon, who was watching.
Five of the eight pitchers on this year’s women’s national team are in their late teens. The average age of the pitching staff is just 19.7 years old. That’s where 33-year-old veteran catcher Lee Bait-na comes in.
“The young pitchers on the national team have really good pitches. They have the most power in the national team, and they feel like the ball is coming all the way through, but they’re nervous and shaky. So when I’m in the battery with them, I try to sit close to home plate so that they feel comfortable throwing,” Lee says of her pitcher’s lead.
Lee’s strategy is to be aggressive with her pitches. “Rather than throwing high balls that are completely out of the strike zone, I try to keep them in the zone. Then I’ll throw in a changeup that goes down in the zone.”
It’s also the catcher’s job to get on the mound and stabilize the pitcher when he’s shaky. “I tell them, ‘What are you having for dinner tonight? Throw like you’re thinking about dinner,'” Lee says. “That’s what I mean by that. That’s what I mean by that,” she explains.