What if you steal Ohtani's home run? "I've imagined it once"... The 36-year-old beast leader is excited, too. [Saipan]

*This content was translated by AI.

Park Hae-min (36), the captain and indispensable center fielder who led the LG Twins to win the Korean Series, also served as the fielder's team leader in the national team preparing for the World Baseball Classic (WBC). Despite having an outstanding center fielder named Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco), Park Hae-min, a veteran and the best defensive player, is an indispensable name in the national team.

Even though Ryu Hyun-jin (39, Hanwha) and Noh Kyung-eun (42, SSG) joined, they are still the most senior in the fielders' group. His value can be seen in international competitions as a relative underdog, as he has outstanding defense skills than anyone else, as he has experienced team wins and won the KBO center fielder's defense award twice.

At the Saipan Oleye Sports Complex on the 10th, players gathered in the morning and began sweating. Park Hae-min led the atmosphere of the fielders by leading by example more than anyone else, and the first day of training ended in a pleasant and serious atmosphere.

Park Hae-min, who finished a busier season than anyone else, has no problem with his physical condition at all. Park Hae-min, who met with reporters after training, said, "I felt it was the shortest while preparing for this off-season," but added, "I rested well and I think I recovered well and prepared well because I've been doing the K-baseball series with coach Kim Yong-il."

As he is in charge of leading the fielders, he has a heavy responsibility. He was eliminated from the WBC group stage for the third consecutive time, and this time he is determined to advance to the quarterfinals unconditionally and head to the United States. The remarkable growth of young players is a factor that raises expectations. Passion burns, too.

"Because WBC's performance has been poor for several competitions, even when I went to the K-Series, the players who (Won) Tae-in, (Moon) Dong-ju, and (Son) Joo-young couldn't throw together really wanted to participate and it was burning up," Park Hae-min said. "He showed a lot of things like, 'I'd rather throw it.' If those players throw well in the WBC, I think they will be able to perform well enough," he said.

The top goal is to head to the United States. "I think I'm going," Park Hae-min said, "Of course, I don't know if I'll make the entry or not, but while I'm preparing, I'm sure I'm going to the U.S. unconditionally."

31 people joined Saipan camp and the final 30 will head to WBC. However, including foreign players and Korean foreign players who did not join this time, about 4,5 people will be eliminated from here.

Nevertheless, Park Hae-min thinks positively. "I think the team will be stronger as that becomes an invisible competition again," he said. "The players here are good players, but the team will be stronger because better players come in."

Park Hae-min is also not guaranteed a position, although he is the leader of the beast. He is a veteran who has experienced many things, but even for him, WBC is a greedy stage. "I want to play against MLB stars. In the end, it is only possible to pass the first round, he said, adding, "There are many good players from Japan and Taiwan as well. Rather than thinking about that, I think it's more important how to pass the first round," he said.

He has been recognized as the top center fielder twice out of three KBO defensive awards in 2023. In autumn baseball, he also gave nightmares by catching opposing batters' pitches. I want to make sure that this works on the world stage.

It is a picture that Park Hae-min imagined once in a while. "I've thought about how I'd feel if I caught those players' pitches once in the season," he said, "but I think I should contribute to the team somehow when I enter the tournament."

He has the best defense, but Lee Jung-hoo is in the same position. Park Hae-min said, "If I go to the WBC, (Lee) Jung-hoo is at the center, so if you let me out as a starter, I will do my best, but even if I can't go out, I have to play my role in the background. There is no time to think about that," he added.

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*This content was translated by AI.