*This content was translated by AI.
Amid the announcement of the final list of the Taiwanese national team to participate in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March, there are unexpected reactions in the region over the elimination of left-hander Wang Yancheng (25) from the KBO League Hanwha Eagles. There is even an absurd speculation that it is due to restrictions on the Hanwha team, which belongs to the team.
On the 6th, the WBC Organizing Committee released the final roster of 30 participating countries on the official website of the competition. On top of that, Wang Yancheng was not listed. The Taiwanese national team made up the list of 16 pitchers. Among them, the left-hander will take only three players, Lin Yu-min (23, Triple-A under the Arizona Diamondbacks), Chen Kwan-yu (36, Rakuten Monkeys), and Lin Wen (21, Double A under the Athletics), who showed strong performance in the "Korean national team." It seems to have been pushed back by "Veteran" Chun Kwan-wi and "Minor League super-special prospect" Lin Wen, who played for the Yokohama Bay Stars and Chiba Lotte Marines in the Japanese professional baseball (NPB) from the 2011 season to the 2020 season.
The elimination of Wang Yan-cheng, who also appeared in the first preliminary entry training for the Taiwanese national team convened on January 15, is unexpected. According to multiple media outlets such as Taiwan's TSNA, Takero Okajima (37), who was a player with Wang Yancheng during his time with the Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Japanese Professional Baseball (NPB), said, "Wasn't Wang Yancheng really chosen? Why on earth?" he asked, expressing his embarrassment. Taiwan's Central News Agency also expressed surprise, saying, "The exclusion of Wang Yancheng's shortlist is an unexpected result."
In the process of reporting this, some Taiwanese media's arrows were erratically directed to Hanwha, Wang Yancheng's team. Taiwanese media ET Today reported Wang Yancheng's elimination and speculated that "Wang Yancheng's absence from the national team's list may be related to the relatively strict rules on the number of pitches by his team Hanwha." The nuance was that the club prevented the player from being dispatched or set strict conditions.
The national team is scheduled to play practice matches against Hanwha at Okinawa Kochinda Stadium on the 21st and 23rd. Rather, Taiwanese media have been sensitive about this, saying, "Wang Yancheng will be exposed if he takes the mound in a practice game with the Korean national team as a member of Hanwha." When the player is eliminated, it seems that the responsibility is passed on to the KBO club.
However, from the Hanwha team's point of view, there is no reason to block Wang Yancheng from entering the WBC. Even from the beginning of the camp, he showed signs of encouraging Wang Yancheng to train using WBC official balls.
Upon hearing the news of an unexpected drop, Wang Yancheng is leaving behind his regret and carrying out Hanwha's spring camp schedule normally. Although his participation in the WBC was canceled, Wang Yancheng is now expected to focus on his KBO league debut and quenching to serve as one of Hanwha's starting pillars.
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*This content was translated by AI.
