"I wanted to do well this time." Frustration of 108 billion 'Korean' ML stars "If the opportunity comes four years later..." [On the Saipan site]

*This content was translated by AI.

The status has changed so much from three years ago. The imagination of Tommy Edman (31, LA Dodgers), who won the World Series for the second consecutive year, wearing the national team uniform is fun to think about, but unfortunately, he cannot participate in the tournament this time.

Ryu Ji-hyun (55), head coach of the national baseball team, met with reporters during the second day of training for the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) held at the Oleye Sports Complex in Saipan on the 11th and expressed his concern about the entry.

If big leaguers and Korean foreign players join, someone should be excluded, he said, especially about the possibility of them joining.

Coach Ryu, who met with reporters before leaving the country, pointed out two players, Riley O'Brien (St. Louis) and Germay Jones (Detroit), and said he is likely to board the final entry.

In WBC, you can wear the national flag even if your parents or grandparents are Korean, even if you are not a Korean national. There was also a case like this in Korea in 2023. Tommy Edman, a Korean-American player whose mother is Korean, did so. Was a utility player with a hidden name 'Hyunsoo' between Tommy and Edman.

After the appointment of the national team coach, he met players who played abroad steadily for a year and representative players who showed their activism showed their willingness to participate in the WBC with O'Brien and Jones very forward-looking attitude.

When the story of Edman came out, coach Ryu said, "What I'm really thankful for Edman is that he had a bad result in the last tournament, but he said he really wanted to go and do well if he didn't have a problem with his body because he was in a different position then," adding, "Unfortunately, he said it would be difficult this time because he had a surgery plan."

As a second baseman, he made a Keystone combination with shortstop Kim Ha-sung (Atlanta) and was expected to play a big role, but he left a shabby report card with a batting average of 0.181, an on-base percentage of 0.250, a slugging percentage of 0.181, and an OPS of 0.431, and the national team also suffered three consecutive group eliminations.

Some of Edman's fans made primary criticisms through his social networking services (SNS).

It was known to some extent that Edman was hurt by excessive arrows from some fans. Director Ryu also said, "Actually, we paid attention to that part as well. I was sorry. I should have taken care of it a little more, but I couldn't do it,' he said, adding, "When I went to March, I started with Hyesung at the Dodgers campground."

Edman, who is well aware of this, said, "I really wanted to tell this to my Korean fans," adding, "I understand." "If I get a chance four years later, I'll really come then," he said.

Coach Ryu said, "At first, I thought Edman would be a little more negative. Tell me that "I couldn't do the competition together, but it ended very nicely," he said.

We don't know what will happen in four years. His skills may decline and he may not be needed by the national team. However, coach Ryu said that it is important to be willing to play for the national team even if they have foreign nationality. This is why expectations are growing for O'Brien and Jones considering that.

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*This content was translated by AI.