Korean baseball, which has entered a generational shift, who will be the new protagonist to occupy the home room of the national team? With the final entry for the national team to participate in the Hangzhou Asian Games (AG) in September to be announced on the 9th, attention is focused on who will be selected for the catcher position.스포츠토토
This AG baseball team is organized differently from previous international competitions. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), which felt the need for a generational change, set an age limit starting from this tournament. The final entry is packed with players under the age of 25 or under the age of 4 years. Here, three wild cards regardless of age or year are included.
The homeroom of the national team is also naturally undergoing a generational change. Yang Eui-ji (36, Doosan Bears) and Kang Min-ho (38, Samsung Lions), as well as Park Dong-won (33, LG Twins) Yoo Gang-nam (31, Lotte Giants) and Jang Seong-woo (33, KT Wiz), who were in charge of the national team’s home so far, pitchers in their 30s are not eligible to participate in this competition. All 19 catchers included in the preliminary entry announced at the end of April are in their 10s and 20s.
KIA Han Seung-taek. Gocheok = Reporter Minkyu Kim mgkim1@edaily.co.kr /2023.03.15/
The problem is lack of experience. On the international stage, the experience of a catcher to lead the pitcher and build a stable defense is important, but among the 19 players, there are almost no players with national team experience or who have been a key player in the league.
Among the preliminary entry players, only Han Seung-taek (29, KIA Tigers) and Jang Seung-hyun (29, Doosan) have experience with the adult national team. Even that, with the 2017 Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC), which had an age limit (under 24 years old), it is somewhat unreasonable to say that he has experience with the adult national team.
Here, based on the performance in the league, the catcher’s lack of experience is more highlighted. Among the 19 players, not a single player has played the regular at-bat this season, and most of them remain as backups.
NC Dinos Hyungjun Kim. Provided by NC
All of the players who have played a key role in the past few years are slowing down this season. Kim Jae-seong (27, Samsung) and Kim Jun-tae (29, KT), who stood out last year, left for a long time due to injuries, and Jung Bo-geun (24, Lotte) and Kim Hyeong-joon (24, NC), who were mentioned as strong candidates for the AG entry, were also backed up (Yoo Kang-nam). He has been out of action this season due to injuries and injuries.
The performance of players who are constantly participating in the league is also somewhat poor. Han Seung-taek, the most experienced among them, has a batting average of 0.143 OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.427, and newcomer Kim Dong-heon (19, Kiwoom) also has a batting average of only 0.224.
The defensive performance is also disappointing. In Pass/9 (wide throw and foil allowed per 9 innings), which can measure blocking ability, Kim Dong-heon is the best among entry players with 0.556, but it is not an outstanding performance. Kim Dong-Hyun showed uneasiness in blocking stealing (27.3%). Park Sang-eon (26, Hanwha Eagles) has the best stealing rate at 42.1%, but his pass/9 is high at 0.842. It’s a pity that no one stands out as a player.
Lotte Jeong Bo-geun. Courtesy of Lotte
The issue of generational change in the national homeroom is urgent. Over the past 10 years, the national team home room has been divided between Kang Min-ho and Yang Eui-ji, but they are now in their late 30s and are about to retire from the national team. A situation where a new face must be discovered quickly. The Hangzhou Asian Games will be the starting point. Attention is focusing on which player will be called by the AG national team and will become the next-generation housekeeper.