WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: POOL C - CZECHIA VS KOREA

March 4, 2026

Pavel Chadim

Tokyo Dome

Team Czechia

Pregame Press Conference

PAVEL CHADIM: First, we are going to ask Japanese media, and then after that, we are going to ask.

Q. Yesterday one of your pitchers got hurt. Is he okay? And also, if you infield who is opening starter for the tomorrow's opening games and the reason why you choose, if you could name, please.

PAVEL CHADIM: Thanks for question. Yesterday's pitcher was hit in ear, it looks good. He didn't know but it was not straight ear, but it was hit to right shoulder and to ear, and I think it help him a lot. That's the first thing. Tomorrow our plan is start with righty Dan Padysak.

Q. Why did you choose him?

PAVEL CHADIM: He's our best pitcher.

Q. This year, your uniform has changed with some Japanese characters on it. If you could explain why, because it looks pretty cool to us.

PAVEL CHADIM: You mean spring training uniform? I think (Miyasaki) I think it's something like respect to Japanese fans, Japanese baseball, respect to country who help us a lot the last three years. We feel a relationship good with Japanese fans, and it's easier for them to read it.

Q. Can you infield whose idea it was putting Japanese letters on your uniform?

PAVEL CHADIM: My press PR chief, Kouri (ph), by the way, lefty pitcher.

Q. Since the last World Baseball Classic we've seen Czech Republic work with Samurai Japan playing games and working with the Marines on a partnership. You have Marek who made it to the Yomiuri Giants, and now you have a couple Japanese players who are going to play in the Czech league. I'm just wondering, what are your thoughts about the relationship between Czech Republic and Japan and how basically the World Baseball Classic helped to foster that, and what that means for a country like Czech Republic to have basically the No. 1 baseball relationship in the world, having this close relationship and ties with you?

PAVEL CHADIM: It's a big honor for us. It's something amazing, I don't know -- not just to think about it, not just to do. And we cannot get for Hideki, manager of Japanese champion who came to Czechia before the European Championship, good luck for the European championship and help us a lot. We opened the door and we played not just with Samurai Japan, Korea, Taiwan. The famous European tournament all these for the five years, all tournament and so many, so many, so many things.

And we are grateful and we have to say thank you, thank you and you can say a thousand times and it's not a enough.

Q. You played the Korean team twice last year. Both teams are slightly different rosters this time around. What did you see, if you saw them, what did you see from the Korean team the last two exhibition games, and how are you going to approach tomorrow's game compared to the ones you played in November last year?

PAVEL CHADIM: It was great games for us and what I see the manager, I saw big effort from Korean side to be back on the top. I saw that everything in Korean baseball worked together, manager, KBO, players, organization. I have big respect of it because I know how hard is it go up if you are down, and I wish them all best but not tomorrow.

Q. Most of your players are part-time, and I understand that you are a brain surgeon, in your normal work. Can you explain the sacrifices that the players have to make to play a tournament like this? And can you also explain why baseball is so popular in the Czech Republic? Why Czech Republic but not countries around about it, Austria, Hungary?

PAVEL CHADIM: I'm just neurologist. That's the first.

And from one side it interesting that we are amateurs and we can play with professionals. I think it will be interesting battle between professional and amateur. We will see if fans will be interested in. And it's thin board between, let's say, it will be fun, it will be interesting, and if all of people will think they are -- they are not on the right place here.

And it's not easy, I think, for us to show that in international baseball, we can play together. But the support for us is that it's not just our mission. I feel that's a mission for other countries, like you said, Austria, Germany, France, and if they will see that we can do it, I think this is just question of time.

It means ten years ago, from ten years ago it was in Czechia, it's better and better. But it's about work, hard work. It's easy to say but hard to show. And if you sleep you cannot count anything better. We work hard on European Championship two years ago. We have done right now first-ever historic European Bronze Medal after 30 years trying. And I think in other European countries, it's possible, too.

But I think that how we will play here, it will be a little bit speed up for them if they see that we can play, they will have more and more motivation. That's my view of this.

Q. When you were here in 2023, it was the team's first time in Tokyo. It was all new. What has that experience and the last three years changed for you as a manager, and how does your approach change when you know what you're going into right now?

PAVEL CHADIM: It's not easy to answer. Question is easy but the answer is not easy. From one side, I knew and my players knew what we can expect it, but what's a big change is this is a group of that. We don't have China here. We have Chinese Taipei, and it's not easy to imagine to play with four Top 10 teams and three from top four team in the world.

Some morning, I am brave, and some morning I will now run home to Europe.