Tokyo: South Korea has moved to the top of the grand slams leaderboard in World Baseball Classic (WBC) history. Moon Bo-gyeong launched a first-inning slam against Czechia, leading to an 11-4 victory in Pool C action at Tokyo Dome.

According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea had previously been tied with the United States and Cuba, each having three grand slams, until Moon's decisive hit. The tournament, which began in 2006 and is currently in its sixth iteration, now sees South Korea leading the grand slam tally with four.

Lee Jin-young, now the national team's hitting coach, hit a grand slam against Chinese Taipei during a 9-0 victory in the first round of the 2009 tournament. In 2023, Kim Ha-seong and Park Kun-woo each contributed a grand slam in a 22-2 rout of China in the opening round.

Moon's homer was part of a remarkable game for South Korea, featuring a total of four home runs, including two by Shay Whitcomb and one by Jahmai Jones. This marks the most home runs ever hit by South Korea in a WBC game. While Cuba and Japan hold the record for most home runs in a single WBC game, with six each against South Africa in 2009 and the Netherlands in 2013 respectively, South Korea's latest performance is a significant achievement.

Moon's home run was not only pivotal for the game's outcome but was also the longest homer in Pool C on Thursday, traveling 428 feet into the seats in right-center field, with no other flyball reaching even 400 feet.