KT Wiz Ju Kwon (28) said he would go to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) with a happy heart.
In a spring camp interview held at the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona, USA on the 12th (Korean time), Sovereignty said, “I am preparing as usual. He is trying to focus more on running the season rather than preparing for the competition,” he said of his mind in training.
Ju Kwon, who was born in China, can compete as a Chinese national representative in the WBC, where nationality rules are relatively free. He participated in the WBC as the Chinese national team for the first time in the 2017 tournament, and his participation in the Chinese national team was confirmed in this tournament as well.
Joo-kwon, who said, “I was too young in 2017,” said, “So I thought I was just going to the WBC. Because it was the biggest international competition, I wanted to participate. I was also curious about what the WBC stage would be like. I don’t remember that time very well. I just went out and threw hard. This time, a lot of famous players came out, so I went out one more time because I wanted to face them.”
Sovereignty, who recorded 58 games (50⅔innings) last season, 3 wins, 3 losses, 15 holds, 1 save and an average ERA of 3.91, will be eligible for free agency after the end of this season. Ahead of an important season, sovereignty initially refused to participate in the WBC.
Joo-kwon, who said, “Originally, I was going to refuse to participate in this tournament,” said, “I wanted to focus on the season because there is also a FA. Then, during the postseason, I got a call, and since I was going to try it this time, the Chinese national team persuaded me. He explained the process of deciding to participate as a member of the Chinese national team, saying, “I told him to come without hesitation because thecompetition was held at the time of the demonstration game anyway, and I thought about it and said I would go 바카라사이트out.”
Ju Kwon will join the Chinese national team in early March. He said, “I will go to Tokyo, Japan on the 28th or around March 1st, and then I will join the national team in Kagoshima. I don’t communicate well with Chinese players. He learned Chinese when he was young, but he came to Korea without being able to learn it properly. I can go and do simple communication.”
For pitchers playing in the KBO league, adapting to the WBC official ball is the biggest problem. The WBC official ball, which uses the Major League ball, is predominantly evaluated as having lower seams and slippery than the KBO official ball. The KBO provided WBC official pitches to national team pitchers in advance to adapt.
However, sovereignty has not yet thrown the WBC official ball. This is because the Chinese national team did not provide a WBC official ball specifically for sovereignty. Joo Kwon said, “I haven’t thrown the WBC official ball yet. The Chinese national team did not provide a separate WBC ball. I just touched the balls that (Go) Young-Pyo and (So) Hyung-Jun were using. It seems similar to the ball I wrote in 2017. Compared to the KBO official ball, it has no stitches and is slippery. Even when I threw it in the last tournament, it was really bad,” he laughed.
China, along with South Korea, Japan, Australia and the Czech Republic, were placed in Group B of the first round of the WBC in Tokyo, Japan. Ju Kwon will not appear in the match against Korea. In Group B, Korea and Japan are likely to advance to the quarterfinals. Australia is evaluated as a dark horse, and it is evaluated that it is not easy for China to advance to the quarterfinals.
Joo-kwon, who said, “I am not preparing quickly because there is a WBC,” said, “I am often contacted by the Chinese national team. It’s just to check if you’re making a good body. I haven’t even seen the Chinese team roster yet. There is nothing special from the national team. I will join you according to the schedule. You can just look at it as preparing for the season.” “The WBC is the same game. Think of it as a practice match and try to get out. Anyway, when the WBC is held, it is the time for the original demonstration game. He added, “I don’t have a lot of pressure because I will go and throw 1 or 2 games.”
Joo-kwon, who said he wanted to face Shohei Ohtani (Angels), who is participating in the Japanese national team, said, “I want to play against Ohtani. He’s a good hitter in America. Since I am not fast with a fastball, I wonder if I should play with a breaking ball.