"The two unnecessary walks were regrettable, and that's a shame."

He delivered a pitching performance worthy of his title as the "native ace." It was a crucial opening game, especially against Taiwan, a formidable contender for the gold medal. On this stage, he showcased a dominant performance with 6 innings and 10 strikeouts. Yet, he himself is not entirely satisfied. The two walks keep weighing on his mind. This is the story of national baseball team pitcher Kwak Been (27, Doosan).

On the 21st, Kwak started the Group B preliminary match against Taiwan at the Okazaki Municipal Stadium in Okazaki, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, for the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, recording a quality start with 6 innings, 2 walks, 10 strikeouts, and no runs. Propelled by Kwak's stellar pitching, the national team defeated Taiwan 5-0.

Meeting reporters in the mixed zone after the game, Kwak expressed his relief, saying, "I knew how important the first game was, so I pitched carefully and did my best. I'm glad it yielded a good result thanks to that."

Kwak's last appearance on the mound was in a game against SSG on the 9th. Since then, he had gone about two weeks without live game pitching. It was a situation where his pitching feel could have dropped in various ways. He received a lot of help from catcher Cho Hyung-woo (SSG), with whom he formed a battery.

Kwak shared the credit, saying, "I was pitching for the first time in about two weeks. My game sense had dropped. So, I tried to figure out the umpire's zone quickly, and checked what the hitters were aiming for and how they reacted. I talked a lot with [Cho] Hyung-woo. Hyung-woo helped me out a lot."

The pitches he was most satisfied with on this day were his fastball and changeup. His only regret is issuing two walks. Kwak stated, "My fastball and changeup were the best. I focused on command, but two unnecessary walks came out, and that's what's regrettable."

However, those walks did not lead to critical runs. Since arriving in Japan, he had not been satisfied with his own condition. At that point, he focused on his breathing and prepared accordingly. This strategy paid off.

Looking back, Kwak said, "When I threw a bullpen session after arriving in Japan the day before yesterday, it was really bad. Pitching alongside the national team players seemed to make me put too much muscle into it. So, I made focusing on my breathing my goal. I kept that in mind when the walks happened."

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