The ‘Year of the Black Rabbit’ has dawned. In the Korean baseball world ahead of the World Baseball Classic (WBC), players in the year of the rabbit are waiting to play an active role.
The 22nd is New Year’s Day, the nation’s biggest holiday. And on the first day of the first lunar month, the Year of the Rabbit began in earnest.
Players born in the Year of the Rabbit can be divided into those born in 1987 and 1999. Both generations are a group full of important players in Korean baseball. They made the heyday of Korean baseball, and the juniors who started baseball following them are becoming the main axis again.
Among the 30 WBC final entries, players born in 1987 are Choi Jeong (SSG, February 28) and Yang Eui-ji (Doosan, June 5). Also, according to the lunar calendar, Kim Hyeon-soo (LG, November 23, 1987 by the lunar calendar) can also be said to be a rabbit.
Kim Hyun-soo, who was appointed as the president of the Korea Professional Baseball Players Association (Athletes Association) this year, is a veteran among national team veterans. Terms & Conditions At the age of 20, he was selected as a representative for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and participated in all the competitions he could participate in, including 2 Olympics, 3 WBC, and 3 Asian Games.
Even at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which tasted a shocking no-medal dropout, Kim Hyun-soo had a batting average of 0.400, 3 homers, 7 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.271. This time, as he was also selected as the captain of the WBC national team, his performance is expected. 스포츠토토
Yang Eui-ji and Choi Jeong-eun have not been able to show their performance in the league in international competitions. Both Yang Eui-ji, who has been wearing the Taegeuk mark since 2015, and Choi Jeong, who was selected for the first time since the 2019 WBSC Premier 12, faced the task of ‘restoring honor’.
Born in 1999, the year of the rabbit has a heavy duty in the pitching team. Rookie king Jeong Cheol-won (Doosan) and hold king Jung Woo-young (LG) should be the main pillars of the bullpen. Gwak Bin (Doosan), who showed off his excellent pitch, also has to fill the vacant spot that his same age Ahn Woo-jin (Kiwoom) was not selected.
In addition, Kang Baek-ho (KT), who previously wore the Taegeuk mark twice, including the Tokyo Olympics, is holding out. Although last year he only had a batting average of 0.245 and 6 home runs due to injury, but as a player who has achieved good results in the national team, his performance is expected.
Kim Hye-seong (Kiwoom), born in the early 1999, is preparing to support the greatest keystone of all time: Tommy Edman (St. Louis) – Kim Ha-seong (San Diego).
In the WBC, Korea suffered a series of elimination in the first round, leaving behind the miracles of the 2006 (final 4) and 2009 (runner-up) tournaments. With the performance of the rabbit player, the national team is running towards the semifinals for the first time in 14 years.