"I hope many national teams come out of our team." Will D-Day announce the WBC list and coach Yeom Kyung-yeop's wish come true

*This content was translated by AI.

The release of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) list is just around the corner.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) will unveil the final list of WBC at the Korea Press Center at 10 a.m. on the 6th. Ryu Ji-hyun, head coach of the national team, and Cho Gye-hyun, chairman of the KBO Power Reinforcement Committee, will attend to explain why.

The members have already been decided. The submission was completed on February 4th in Korean time, and the participating countries' own announcement was only delayed at the request of WBC. The United States and Japan were announced in advance to improve the effectiveness of public relations in their countries as host countries. Globally, the list of players from all participating countries will be announced at 9 a.m. on the 6th at MLB NETWORK.

One of the things that draws attention is the number of defending champion LG players. The largest number of participants have already participated in the first Saipan camp, which was considered the final entry barometer. Three pitchers, including Yoo Young-chan, Son Joo-young and Song Seung-ki, and five fielders, including Park Dong-won, Moon Bo-kyung, Shin Min-jae, Hong Chang-ki and Park Hae-min, were the key members of the championship.

Among them, the LG center line, consisting of catcher Park Dong-won, center fielder Park Hae-min and second baseman Shin Min-jae, is expected to take the center stage in the national team. Park Dong-won is expected to be the main catcher with both offense, defense and experience. Kim Hyung-joon (NC Dinos), who was considered the mainstay, underwent finger surgery in October last year and completed rehabilitation, but failed to participate in Saipan camp.

Park Hae-min, who has the best center field defense in the league, cannot be left out. The need for a center fielder with a wide range of defense has grown as players focusing on offense, such as Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco Giants) and Ahn Hyun-min (KT Wiz), are expected to be selected.

KBO Golden Glove second baseman Shin Min-jae is a case where his chances of starting have increased due to a series of injuries to existing members. Previously, it was expected as a utility resource capable of backing up outfielders, but it has become an indispensable player now. Starting with the ankle injury of Major League Baseball's Gold Glove second baseman Tommy Edman (LA Dodgers), Kim Ha-sung (Atlanta Braves) ruptured finger tendon and Song Sung-moon (San Diego Padres) left the infielders one after another due to an internal oblique muscle injury.

Left-hander Son Joo-young, third baseman Moon Bo-kyung and outfielder Hong Chang-ki are also likely to be selected, so up to six players are expected to be selected at LG. There are also practical concerns. Since winning the Korean Series last year, LG has little break time and off-season training period, so it cannot help but be concerned about the risk of injury to its players. In addition, hitters can take time to raise their batting cycle in time for the tournament and then back up during the regular season.

However, the head coach had a different opinion. The idea is that the experience of international competitions that will help players grow and the pride of producing a lot of national players cannot be earned by giving anything. LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said at the LG New Year's greeting last month, "I want to spend more time on the national team than anyone else. The fact that our team has many national teams means that our team has become stronger. There's nothing bad about it," he said.

"Except for (veteran) Park Hae-min, the experience of the national team is all a plus factor for our team's players," he said. "Our players, including Moon Bo-kyung, Shin Min-jae and Hong Chang-ki, may be difficult this season right away. However, considering the future of LG and individual players, it is much more valuable to go to WBC," he stressed.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.