The World Baseball Classic for 2017 got underway in the wee hours of the morning (for those of us in North America), with Israel edging South Korea, 2-1 in 10 innings at Seoul, South Korea.
The WBSC headline made it clear that it was an upset of epic proportions:
No. 41 Israel shocks No. 3 Korea 2-1 in extra-inning thriller to open World Baseball Classic 2017
I imagine my friend, the late Dave Blackburn smiling down on that one, along with his teammates from the Maccabi USA fastball team. (Dave played for Israel in many world competitions, which he viewed as among his favorite things in life. Blackburn known to fastballers of course, as the pioneer in bringing streaming audio and video to men’s fastball.)
The recap of Israel vs. South Korea in the 2017 WBC from MLB.com
SEOUL, South Korea — The 2017 World Baseball Classic began in dramatic fashion on Monday, with Israel beating Pool A host Korea, 2-1, in 10 innings in the tournament’s opening game.
With MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred in attendance at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, Israel finally broke through in the top of the 10th. With runners on first and third and two outs, Scott Burcham stepped in against Korea’s Chang-Yong Lim and slapped a two-strike grounder up the middle. Korean second baseman Geonchang Seo made a sliding stop to keep the ball in the infield but had no play on any of the runners, allowing the go-ahead run to score.
Click here for the complete story.
Complete WBC coverage at the WBC website.
Free WBC Scorecards
And last but not least, for those of you who like to keep score while watching the games, the “Thirty81” Project has specially designed scorecards for the 2017 World Baseball Classic available free, online here.
About The THIRTY81 Project:
The THIRTY81 Project began modestly. What started as a information graphic designed for the Los Angeles Times 2013 Baseball Preview has evolved into an open ended design study celebrating America’s Game. We are a small studio located in Orange County, CA., just minutes away from the home of Angels Baseball.
Editor’s note: THIRTY81 posts scorecards for MLB as well.