KT Wiz produced 4 players, Park Byung-ho, Kang Baek-ho, Ko Young-pyo and So Hyeong-jun, in the Korean national team for the World Baseball Classic (WBC) to be held in March. If you expand the range as a whole as WBC participants, there are 5 players. This is because setup man Joo Kwon (28) will join the Chinese national team.
The WBC has eligibility rules that allow players to represent their parents’ nationality as well as their current nationality. Sovereign had a Chinese father and a Korean mother. He was born and raised in Jilin, China. He came to Korea in 2005 and was naturalized in 2007.
Ju Kwon also played for the Chinese national team in the 4th WBC held in 2017. Although he did not qualify for the Korean national team, he did not want to miss the opportunity to play in the most prestigious international competitions. At the time, some baseball fans poured criticism towards sovereignty and put a ‘traitor’ frame on it.
Due to his past experience, this competition was troubled. The first offer from the China Baseball Association (CBA) in October last year was rejected. However, the second request was accepted. He explained, “I had a lot of worries, but the WBC is a stage where the best players gather. It seemed like it would be a good experience. It is also an opportunity to grow one step further.” Unlike six years ago, when he went back and forth between the selection and the bullpen, he will return to the WBC after growing into a top-notch setup man in the KBO League. It is a player’s instinct to want to check his skills.
Coincidentally, Lee Kang-cheol, the head coach of his team (KT), is in charge of the Korean national team. He visited the baseball field on the 3rd and had a meeting with coach Lee Kang-cheol, and expressed his desire to participate in the WBC with the Chinese national team. Director Lee also readily accepted. 메이저놀이터
Korea selected major leaguer Tommy Edman (St. Louis Cardinals) whose mother is Korean. He has already been drafted as the starting second baseman. There is no condemnation public opinion for Edmund’s joining. Sovereignty is also not a problem. The clamor of some baseball fans was simply anti-Chinese sentiment. China was placed in the same Group B as Korea in the first round. Meet on the 13th of March. Sovereignty nailed it, saying, “Korea and China are facing each other, and I do not intend to play that game.”
The chances of China passing the first round are very low. Ju Kwon hopes to face world-class players, but China will only play against four countries in Group B (Japan, Korea, the Czech Republic, and Australia) in the first round in a league match.
Still, it is good for sovereignty. Major leaguers such as Shohei Otani (LA Angels), Seiya Suzuki (Chicago Cubs), and Lars Nuthba (St. Ohtani is a major league (MLB) icon who won the American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the 2021 season.
Sovereignty is the pitcher who won the hold king (31) in the KBO League in the 2020 season. He is also the main player in KT’s unified victory in 2021. However, in the 2022 season, he slowed down due to poor condition at the beginning of the season and only held 15 holds. For him who needs a leap forward, participating in the WBC can be a great motivation to prepare for his inactive period and spring camp.