[Official] What kind of fateful prank is OUT→, a fractured Korea of the Korean national team 's 'blank' burst... Kim Kyung-moon's main master has been hit by bad luck

*This content was translated by AI.

Not only the Hanwha Eagles, but also the Korean baseball team, which will participate in the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), has suffered a huge negative factor. Choi Jae-hoon (37), Hanwha's main homeowner, suffered a fracture. If the injury is severe, it is expected to affect Hanwha's early schedule of the season as well as the failure to participate in the WBC tournament.

An official from Hanwha said on the 8th, "Choi Jae-hoon was hit by a ball in his right hand while receiving a home throw during a defensive training session at the Melbourne Spring Camp in Australia earlier in the day."

"As a result of an X-ray examination at a local hospital, I was found to have a fracture of the right finger (finger) for three to four weeks," he said. "The results of the examination were immediately delivered to the WBC national team."

Choi Jae-hoon, who graduated from Hwagok Elementary School, Deoksu Middle School, and Deoksu High School, joined the Doosan Bears in 2008 as a nurturing player and made his professional debut that year. Choi Jae-hoon, who fulfilled his military duty with the National Police Agency's baseball team, returned to the first team stage in the 2012 season and served as Doosan's backup catcher until the 2016 season. At that time, Yang Eui-ji, the national team's homeowner, was holding on to Doosan, so there was little opportunity to take the main catcher's opportunity.

It was on April 17, 2017, that a big change came to him. At that time, Hanwha made a one-on-one trade in which Choi Jae-hoon was received from Doosan instead of sending infielder Shin Sung-hyun to Doosan. At the time, Hanwha explained the background, "Through this trade, we can secure a full-strength catcher as soon as possible as a bridge between a veteran catcher and a future catcher who is fostering."

Since then, Choi Jae-hoon has established himself as a solid starting player, playing more than 100 games every season from that year to the 2025 season. Above all, he showed an iron man by keeping Hanwha's home turf firmly without any minor injuries. Last season, Choi Jae-hoon also played in 121 games with a batting average of 0.286 (77 hits in 269) with one home run, 35 RBIs and 28 points, 46 walks, 17 fit balls, 48 strikeouts, a slugging percentage of 0.353, an on-base percentage of 0.414, an on-base percentage of 0.767 and a scoring average of 0.355.

Above all, Choi Jae-hoon received the honor of being selected for the senior national team for the first time in November last year. Expectations were high as well. Along with Park Dong-won (LG Twins), high expectations were raised that he would keep the national team's home turf firmly.

Recently, he expressed his gratitude through Japanese media, referring to his teacher Tsutomu Ito (64), former manager of Chiba Lotte. In an interview with Japanese media The Answer, Choi Jae-hoon said, "I met Coach Ito for the first time in Doosan after completing my military service in 2012. I heard he was the best catcher in Japan, and he even served as a manager of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), but he paid more attention to backup catchers than to the main players. I think I thought that the main catchers can play comfortably only when the catchers who support the back do well," he said.

Choi Jae-hoon then said, "Coach Ito emphasized physical strength rather than lead or skill. I wanted to build up my physical strength to continue playing in the game. I was immersed in basic catcher training because I didn't go to the game at the time. "It was really hard," he recalled. "But still, he guided me well in the mental part, so I could change. He told me that it doesn't matter if I make a mistake. Before that, when I made a mistake, I kept thinking about it, but after that, the shaking disappeared. I think I was able to come this far because of this," he said, expressing his gratitude.

At the same time, Choi Jae-hoon said, "The junior pitchers have improved a lot. Few pitchers had a fastball speed of more than 150 kilometers, but most of the pitchers who came to Japan (at the time of the warm-up match) throw 150 kilometers. He expressed his expectations, saying, "One day, Japan will definitely catch up." However, as the unexpected injury hit him, he was on the verge of returning the national flag unfortunately.

Meanwhile, if Choi Jae-hoon is confirmed to be eliminated from the WBC national team, Ryu Ji-hyun-ho should select an alternative catcher. One of the leading candidates for alternative selection resources is SSG Landers' main catcher Cho Hyung-woo. Cho Hyung-woo played in 102 games in the 2025 season and posted a batting average of 0.238 (64 hits in 269) with four home runs, 29 RBIs and 23 runs, 19 walks, a three-body ball, 64 strikeouts, a slugging percentage of 0.312 and an on-base percentage of 0.294, an on-base percentage of 0.606 (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) and a scoring average of 0.244. Cho Hyung-woo was selected for the national team along with Park Dong-won and Choi Jae-hoon during the K-baseball series against the Czech Republic and Japan in November last year. NC Dinos' main catcher Kim Hyung-joon underwent surgery to remove the left hand yug bone in October last year, and has not been mentioned as a candidate for the national team.

In addition, Hanwha should also find a homeowner who will temporarily take charge of Choi Jae-hoon's role at the beginning of the season. A total of four catchers, including Park Sang-eon, Jang Kyu-hyun and Heo In-seo, were present at the Melbourne camp in Australia.

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*This content was translated by AI.