Korea left impressive results on the international stage at the time, such as the semifinals of the 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC), the gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and the runner-up in the 2009 WBC, drawing attention from baseball fans around the world. Not a few officials remember that time as the golden age of Korean baseball.
Basically, there were many players who played in the major leagues. At the time of the 2006 WBC Invitational Tournament, major leaguers were lined up. This is because the golden generation, who had advanced to the major leagues around 2000, was making their way. At that time, Park Chan-ho, Koo Dae-seong, Kim Byung-hyun, Kim Seon-woo, Seo Jae-eung, Choi Hee-seop, and Bong Joong-geun were members of the major league club. There were a total of 7 overseas members.
However, the WBC has not reached the numbers at that time. In 2009, there was only one Choo Shin-soo, and in 2017, Oh Seung-hwan was one. This year, Ha-seong Kim (San Diego) and Tommy Edman (St. Louis) are two. Of course, key major leaguers were left out due to various circumstances, such as Ryu Hyun-jin (Toronto) 메이저사이트and Choi Ji-man (Pittsburgh), who were frustrated due to injuries this year. However, the number of competitions in the first round is a wall that is not easy to overcome.
In the end, this tournament, which is almost entirely filled with domestic players, could be a good opportunity to get a good look at the basic fitness of the KBO League. The WBC will be held again after 6 years in the aftermath of the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) since the 2017 tournament. It’s perfect for checking how much the KBO League has grown in six years, or how well it’s keeping up with the pace of global baseball development as a whole.
It is regrettable that the major leaguers did not participate 100% due to the KBO League’s best pitcher An Woo-jin (Kiwoom)’s fall, but the baseball world is giving good evaluations to the national team’s balance this time. Ya Su-jin is centered on veterans with rich international stage experience. Among the pitchers, there are veteran players, but a significant portion are young players who are growing in the KBO league.
Because the opponent is a famous player, or a player with major league experience, there is no need to be intimidated or intimidated by guessing. Overseas scouts view the KBO League as roughly “a league at a slightly higher level than Double-A.” Nevertheless, the reason why it is interesting to watch is that the team rotates with various players from the rookie level to the major league level in one basket. Players on the varsity roster are considered to be at or near major league level. You don’t have to think of yourself as weak.
Ryu Hyun-jin, who is absent from the tournament due to elbow surgery, also ordered, “You have to be proud,” and predicted, “They are the players selected as our representative. Everyone thinks their skills are outstanding. Wouldn’t it be good if there were no injuries?” Ryu Hyun-jin, who has gone through all of the preseason battles in the major leagues, also highly evaluated the skills of representative players in the KBO League. While creating and nurturing the atmosphere unique to Korea has emerged as an urgent priority, Lee Kang-cheol’s final grades are expected to suggest several meanings.