Korean baseball has made a strong start toward the WBC. On the 4th, the 30 finalists were announced, and from the 15th of next month, they will have a convocation training for about two weeks at Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona, USA. Prior to that, head coach Lee Kang-cheol and the top officials fly to Australia and start analyzing their strength.
Korean baseball won the quarterfinals in the first tournament in 2006 and the runner-up in the second tournament in 2009. However, the 3rd tournament in 2013 and the 4th tournament in 2017 were eliminated in the first round. In particular, the 2017 competition was humiliated at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. This tournament will be held again after 6 years due to Corona 19.
Following the 2017 tournament, there are four players who are competing for the second consecutive time: Yang Hyeon-jong (KIA), Yang Eui-ji (Doosan), Kim Ha-seong (San Diego Padres), and Park Kun-woo (NC). 26 people are new faces. However, following the 2013 competition, there are two players who are participating for the first time in 10 years. The main characters are Choi Jeong (SSG) and Kim Hyun-soo (LG). Kim Hyun-soo did not participate because he was struggling in the major leagues at the time.
There are even more surprises. The 2009 members also participate in this competition. The main characters are Kim Gwang-hyeon (SSG), Choi Jeong, and Kim Hyun-soo. Kim Gwang-hyeon will compete in the WBC for the first time in 14 years, and Choi Jeong and Kim Hyeon-soo will step on the WBC stage again after 10 years following the 2009 and 2013 competitions.
▲ 2023 Korea WBC national team 30 final entry
pitchers – Gwanghyeon Kim (SSG), Hyeonjong Yang, Eui-ri Lee (above KIA) Yunsik Kim, Wooseok Ko, Wooyoung Jeong (above LG), Young-pyo Koh, Joon Sohn (above KT), Changmo Koo, Yongchan Lee (above NC) )
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_ ), Park Byeong-ho, Kang Baek-ho (KT), 메이저사이트 Kim Ha-seong (San Diego Padres), Tommy Edman (St. Louis Cardinals), Choi Ji-man (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Outfielders – Lee Jung-hoo (Kiwoom), Kim Hyun-soo, Park Hae-min (LG), Na Seong-beom (KIA) , Park Kun-woo (NC)
Looking at the composition of the members of this tournament, Kim Gwang-hyeon, Choi Jeong, and Kim Hyeon-soo, who had runner-up experience in 2009, should take the lead. Perhaps the so-called ‘Jung Hyeon-soo’ trio is Lee Kang-cheol’s alpha and omega. Kim Gwang-hyeon must take on the role of the ace of the national team without Ahn Woo-jin (Kiwoom). Last year, it was sufficiently proved that it is still the best in the country in terms of pitching and game management ability.
Choi Jeong and Kim Hyun-soo did not have a very outstanding season last year. Choi Jeong-eun hit only 26 homers last year, the fewest since 2015. Kim Hyun-soo also posted 23 homers and 106 RBIs with a batting average of 0.286, but it was ‘Kim Hyun-soo did it’, but it was not a performance better than Lee Jung-hoo (Kiwoom) or Jose Pirella (Samsung).
However, apart from Choi Jeong, the only player in the national team to play third base is Kim Ha-seong. However, Kim Ha-seong is the starting shortstop. Kim Hyun-soo also seems to have to take over a spot in the outfield of the national team. Looking at the composition of the members, they are the players who should be included in the cleanup trio. It is certain that they will be hitters who will show their clutch ability in international competitions if they are in good condition.
They will have many emotions, feelings, and thoughts, such as the experience of runner-up in 2009 and the regret of collapsing on the threshold of winning. There will naturally be some things to share while you’re fleshing out with the national team members in Tucson, Arizona. From the natural process of creating chemistry to the ground, the role of the trio is not expected to be small.