Kwak Bin redeems himself with dominant Asian Games run: 'I give myself 100 points'

"It feels like I finally finished homework I had been putting off. This time, I want to give myself 100 points."

Three years ago, Kwak Bin (27, Doosan Bears) won a gold medal without throwing a single pitch. On Sunday, he stood as the ace who led South Korea to a fifth consecutive Asian Games baseball title.

Kwak took the mound in the gold-medal game against Japan at Toyohashi City Baseball Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, throwing 111 pitches over 6⅓ innings and allowing just one run on four hits, two walks and nine strikeouts. Riding what teammates called the "Kwak Bin bus," South Korea defeated Japan 3-1 to claim its fifth straight Asian Games gold medal in baseball.

Even in cold, rainy conditions, Kwak kept Japan scoreless through six innings, working with a fastball that approached 155 kilometers per hour. "When I'm getting ready for a game, my body should be heating up and my heart rate rising, but the cold weather made that difficult," he said. "I was worried after seeing my pitches in the first inning, but my teammates and pitching coach Choi Won-ho told me not to worry and to stay positive — that really helped."

Kwak left the game in the seventh inning after surrendering a run-scoring hit with one out and runners on first and second, but reliever Jo Byeong-hyeon came in and held the line. "Once I came off the mound, it was out of my hands," Kwak said. "I'm so grateful and relieved that Byeong-hyeon shut it down."

Kwak was the dominant force of the tournament. He threw six no-hit, shutout innings with 10 strikeouts in a 5-0 group-stage win over Taiwan, then stifled Japan's lineup in the final — finishing the tournament with 12⅓ innings pitched, one run allowed and 19 strikeouts across two starts.

When asked to name the tournament's most valuable player, manager Ryu Ji-hyeon did not hesitate to point to Kwak. "As the oldest player on this team, he fulfilled the responsibilities of a senior member to the very end — there are no words beyond praise," Ryu said. "Even in the seventh inning, his determination to see it through himself was unwavering, and I respected that fighting spirit."

For Kwak, the gold medal also washed away the pain of three years ago. He was selected for the national team at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, held in 2023, but a back spasm kept him off the mound for the entire tournament. The pitcher who stepped up in his place — handling key starts against Taiwan in the group stage and the final — was Moon Dong-ju of the Hanwha Eagles.

"I felt so sorry toward Dong-ju at Hangzhou," Kwak said. "Now that I've taken on that role myself, I realize what a heavy burden he was carrying at such a young age — it made me feel even worse. But this time I carried that weight and got through it, and the lingering regret in my heart is gone. It really does feel like I finished homework I had been putting off."

Kwak has always been his own harshest critic, but not this time. Asked to rate his performance at these Asian Games, he answered without hesitation: "100 points."

As the elder statesman of the squad, Kwak also had a message for his younger teammates. "The young players have real potential," he said. "I believe that if fans cheer for them as one rather than criticizing them, Korean baseball will keep growing."

With his long-deferred homework done, Kwak has his sights set on a bigger stage. "Ever since I started playing baseball, my dream has been to pitch in the United States, and that dream hasn't changed," he said. "I'll spend the rest of this season and next year sharpening what I still need to improve, and then I'll take on that challenge at my very best."