From Koo Ja-wook, Ahn Hyun-min, Moon Hyun-bin to 'Big Leaguer' Lee Jung-hoo and Jones, the head coach's happy thoughts [Saipan site]

*This content was translated by AI.

He is optimistic about joining overseas players and even Korean players. Ryu Ji-hyun (65), head coach of the national baseball team, is somewhat disappointed in the composition of the players, but he is in a happy trouble in the composition of the outfield.

Coach Ryu Ji-hyun met with reporters on the second day of the first camp against the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) at the Saipan Oleye Sports Complex on the 11th and said, "It's one of the things I'm worried about."

Song Sung-moon (San Diego) was excluded from the list of 30 participants, but Kim Hye-sung (LA Dodgers) and Ko Woo-seok (Detroit) joined and 31 players headed to Saipan. The final entry, which must be submitted by the 3rd of next month, is 30, but four to five players are expected to be excluded because there are players who failed to join this time.

"I wrote it here, but I have no choice but to leave someone out again," coach Ryu said. "I think there are about 15 fielders in the composition of the entry," and added, "That's why I think it's one of the most worrisome parts until the end."

There are currently two Golden Glover players in the outfield in 2025. They are Ahn Hyun-min (KT) and Koo Ja-wook (Samsung). It may be the main position, but it is difficult to think about their departure from the entry. In addition, Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco) and Korean-American Germay Jones (Detroit) are expected to join.

Lee Jung-hoo is called a "hit genius" as the No. 1 hitter in the KBO League (0.340). Last season, he also played as the main center fielder in San Francisco, batting .266 with an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of 0.734 in 150 games. He is a key player in charge of the center line of the national team.

Jones had the most impressive season in 72 games last year with a batting average of 0.287, seven homers and 23 RBIs, an on-base percentage of 0.387, a slugging percentage of 0.550, and an on-base percentage of 0.937. He played 10 games in left field and 18 games in right field this season.

Up to this point, there is already no choice but to worry about who to exclude. But there are more candidates. Moon Hyun-bin (Hanwha), who showed off his Golden Glover-class skills last year, Park Hae-min, the captain of the KBO's defense team, and Hong Chang-ki (LG), who did not play many games last year due to injuries, won the right-field KBO Defense Award for the previous two consecutive seasons and wore gold gloves twice with outstanding hitting, are holding out.

If two catchers are selected out of 15 fielders, two for each position in the infield, eight are expected, and seven are expected to be selected including utility players. There are five to six players who can enter the outfield.

The national team, which has tasted painful group stages in the previous three WBCs, has unusually set up the first camp and is busy making itself in a warm Saipan. Key players, including the newly joined veteran duo Ryu Hyun-jin (Hanwha) and Noh Kyung-eun (SSG), and Kim Hye-sung, are taking the lead in a sincere attitude, and the camp atmosphere is said to be "all-time."

In such a situation, outfielder resources are throwing happy concerns to the manager. After training until the 21st, the national team will participate in each team's off-season training schedule. If the final list is announced before the deadline for submitting entries on the 3rd of next month, the second camp will be held with these players in Okinawa, Japan, from February 15.

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*This content was translated by AI.