“I haven’t been contacted yet.”
The starting first baseman of the Korean national baseball team, which will participate in the WBC in March, is in trouble. The first baseman for this tournament is Choi Ji-man (Pittsburgh Pirates), Park Byeong-ho, and Kang Baek-ho (KT). Manager Lee Kang-cheol has scored Choi Ji-man as the starting first baseman and plans to appoint Park Byeong-ho or Kang Baek-ho as the designated hitter.
However, the most important factor, Choi Ji-man’s joining the national team, has not yet been decided. After the 2022 season, Choi Ji-man underwent an elbow bone fragment removal surgery. In addition, it is very likely that the annual salary will be decided this season through the new affiliated team Pittsburgh and the Salary Adjustment Committee.
Pittsburgh plans to directly check Choi Ji-man’s physical condition and decide his stance on whether to join the national team. It was one of the reasons Choi Ji-man went to the United States early on the 8th. About 20 days have passed, but Pittsburgh still seems to have not decided on Choi’s joining the national team.
On the 27th, coach Lee Kang-chul of the national team said, “I haven’t been contacted yet. We have to wait. I saw an article saying that you can also apply for salary adjustment. I’ve talked to the KBO. Substitutes have been prepared. There are a lot of first basemen.” 온라인카지노
Director Lee refrained from commenting in detail, but it was a nuance that seemed to have already decided on Choi Ji-man’s plan B. He said, “The priority is for Jee Ji-yi to come. He has to think of plans when things go wrong. As for the catcher, if there is a clear injury name, he can be changed even during the tournament, but other fielders or pitchers take time.”
It is known that major leaguers cannot digest their national team schedules until the official schedules of their national teams begin. Even if Choi Ji-man joins the national team, he will not be able to go to the Arizona camp and will be able to join the training in Gocheok in March.
Will Choi Ji-man be able to appear at the Gocheok Dome in a national team uniform? Considering the defensive power, Park Byeong-ho is likely to be the starting first baseman if Choi Ji-man fails to join. Of course, Chae Eun-seong (Hanwha) and Oh Jae-il (Samsung) may have opportunities to join the national team.