It’s time to prove the reputation of the ‘national geopo’.
In March, bad news flew to the Korean national team to play the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC). This is the news that Choi Ji-man (32, Pittsburgh), who was in the final 30 players of the previous national team, failed to join. Pittsburgh, the team, expressed its intention not to participate in the WBC, citing Choi Ji-man’s history of surgery to remove a bone fragment in his right elbow.
There was also a setback in the national team plan. Choi Ji-man, who is in his 8th year in the big leagues, is a slugger who hit 61 home runs in the US Major League (MLB). He also stood out with his unique flexibility in first base defense.
The gaze shifts to the resource that will replace him. The likely candidate is Park Byeong-ho (37, KT), the ‘national hero’. Park Byeong-ho drew 362 arches in 14 seasons and is ranked 4th in KBO career home runs. Excluding the two seasons (2016-2017) when he entered the United States, he built a 30-home run monument for 6 consecutive years (2012-2019) and engraved his name on the 2nd record after Lee Seung-yeop. 카지노사이트
He just couldn’t escape the slump. Over 2020-2021, home runs fell to the 20s. Above all, the sophistication disappeared, and even the batting average, which was near 30%, plummeted to the early 20%. Park Byeong-ho of the world could not avoid the evaluation that the aging curve had come.
Park Byeong-ho, who was like that, made a spectacular comeback last season. After moving the team to KT as a free agent (FA), he regained the home run king (35) in 3 years with 20 homers in 9 consecutive seasons for the first time ever. He set new records, such as being the oldest home run king of all time (36 years old) and the home run king of all time (6 times). Park Byung-ho, who walked an untrodden path, had a great year by winning the first baseman Golden Glove.
He just needs to bring that momentum to his national team as it is. Of course, there are negative views. It is because there is a history of Park Byeong-ho wearing the Taegeuk mark and shrinking at an important moment. In particular, in the 2019 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier 12, which was a recent international competition, he had a batting average of 0.179 (5 hits in 28 at-bats) and 2 RBIs without a home run, leaving a deep regret. In fact, for Park Byeong-ho, who is about to face his last international competition, Choi Ji-man’s vacancy is an opportunity to restore his honor.