“The national team is always going to win.” On
the 21st (Korean time), Choo Shin-soo appeared on the Korean radio station ‘DKNET’ in Dallas, Texas, USA, and made a statement about the selection of the Korean national team for the 2023 WBC. poured out
If you watch the video, you can fully understand what Shin-soo Choo’s intention was. However, apart from the intention, Choo Shin-soo’s remarks are currently causing a great controversy. This is because in the process of revealing his thoughts, Choo Shin-soo shot coach Lee Kang-cheol and the WBC technical committee to defend some players and left scars on veteran players.
Choo Shin-soo, who appeared on ‘DKNET’, said, “If you look at Japan, which is close to Korea, there are many new faces when it comes to international competitions. “If you looked at the future rather than the current performance, it is correct that many players do not go, and new players should have been selected. How long are Kim Gwang-hyun (SSG Landers) 메이저사이트 and Yang Hyun-jong (KIA Tigers)? said and opened the door.
Continuing, Choo Shin-soo said, “After experience, there are many talented players. Why can’t such players work? When I go to an international competition at a young age, my emotions and mind change tremendously. There is no player. The same goes for Ahn Woo-jin,” he said.
The KBO and WBC technical committees are putting their lives on the line for this tournament. The KBO League is the most popular among domestic professional sports and is receiving a lot of attention from fans. However, due to sluggish results in recent international competitions and various incidents, the popularity of baseball has declined compared to the past. The KBO and clubs are working hard to bring fans to the ballpark. But not everything is going as planned.
Baseball’s popularity peaked shortly after the 2008 Beijing Olympics. At that time, the baseball team players won the ‘previous’ championship and hung a gold medal around their necks, and the popularity of baseball pierced the sky. This was also directly related to the revival of the KBO League. Numerous fans visited the baseball field, and children started dreaming of becoming baseball players after watching the national team play in the Beijing Olympics.
This WBC is the best opportunity to bring fans back to the ballpark. The KBO and WBC technical committees, who were unaware of this, also moved quickly. They struggled to build the best power based on players active in the major leagues. As a result, in the 2021 season, National League second baseman Gold Glove winner Tommy Edman (St. Louis Cardinals) was promoted to the Korean national team. However, Choo Shin-soo undermined their efforts with a single word.
Of course, the ‘future’ is also important. However, in the current situation of the KBO League and Korean baseball, the ‘present’ cannot be left out. South Korea fell to Taiwan and the Netherlands at the 2013 WBC, and was frustrated to advance to the next round. And in the 2017 WBC, Israel and the Netherlands were caught in the ‘home’ Gocheok Dome. In addition, in the most recent international competition, the Tokyo Olympics, he suffered the humiliation of a ‘no medal’. Looking only at the future, we cannot ignore practical problems.
As Choo Shin-soo said, it is clear that the experience of international competitions has a great influence on the growth of young players. However, in order to ‘represent’ the country, a minimum ‘condition’ is required. If prospects have done well in the KBO League, there is no reason not to be selected for the national team. The WBC national team, the biggest competition in baseball, as well as numerous international competitions, are not light enough to blindly provide opportunities by relying only on talent.
Jeong Cheol-won, who won the title of ‘Rookie of the Year’ last year, said, “I don’t think I’m going to the national team to learn something. It’s not about gaining experience. I’m going to win unconditionally.” Even younger players who have just stepped on the stage of the first team know it. Of course, Choo Shin-soo would not have known this. However, in the process of revealing regret that some of his juniors failed to board the WBC national team, he undermined the efforts of so many people and left scars on veteran players who would play with the Taegeuk mark.