The baseball team, composed of the strongest members of each position, dreams of reviving Korean baseball at the 2023 WBC (World Baseball Classic).
The baseball team led by coach Lee Kang-cheol released a list of 30 players to compete in the WBC on the 4th. The submission of the final list of 28 players is until the 8th of next month.
The face of the players in each position is also splendid. In particular, the keystone combination of shortstop and second baseman, which will consist of major leaguers Kim Ha-seong (San Diego) and Tommy Edman (St. Louis), is evaluated as the most spectacular in Korean baseball history and is expected to boast watertight defense.
The first baseman is also assigned former and current major leaguers. Pittsburgh Choi Ji-man and last year’s KBO League home run king Park Byeong-ho, who played for Minnesota in the past, are expected to alternate first baseman’s mitt.
The third baseman is the share of SSG Choi Jeong, who is synonymous with consistency. However, since Heo Gyeong-min (Doosan), who was initially expected to join the national team, dropped out due to poor physical condition, other players capable of defending third base should take over as backup.
For Choi Jeong, who is selected for the fifth national team, this tournament could be a venue for revenge on the international stage. This is because it is true that the best performance in the national team was somewhat disappointing compared to the tremendous achievements made in the KBO League.
In the 2nd WBC in 2009, when Choi Jeong-eun first participated in the national team, he served as a backup member for shortstop and third baseman, but was disappointed by being silent with no hits in 7 at-bats following an unstable defense.
The following year at the Asian Games 슬롯사이트 in Guangzhou, Kang Jung-ho, who was selected as a backup third baseman, was selected as the final starter and lost his pride. In the 2013 WBC, despite being in good condition, the national team was eliminated in the first round, so he could not show his true worth.
In the 2019 WBSC Premier 12, he gave up the starting third baseman position to Heo Gyeong-min for defense reasons, but the hitting feeling was not good, so he was defeated by Hwang Jae-gyun and ended up playing in 4 out of 8 games (2 starting games) played by the national team.
This 2023 WBC is likely to be Choi Jeong’s last national team stage. This is because he is already in his mid-30s. Attention is focusing on whether Choi Jeong, who has been steadily accumulating special grades more than anyone else and has become the best third baseman in Korean baseball history, will burn his last flame brilliantly.