"Because Dongjoo is out". Even Choi Jaehoon, who took care of his junior... I didn't know "Dream of a 37-year-old nation" would go down like this

*This content was translated by AI.

"Unfortunately, (Moon) Dongjoo fell out because he was sick..."

He felt sorry for the departure of his junior, who had been working together, but he also lowered his head due to the unexpected injury. Choi Jae-hoon (37, Hanwha Eagles) is sadly on the verge of falling off the national team list.

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."

Although the national team's position has not been announced yet, the opening of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) is less than a month away, so it has no choice but to replace it with another player.

After entering the professional league as a nurturing player with the Doosan Bears in 2008, he started increasing his chances only in 2012 after serving as a police baseball team. Choi Jae-hoon, who was still limited to the role of a backup catcher behind Yang Eui-ji (Doosan), only secured the main position after moving to Hanwha Eagles in 2017. Although he recorded his first career batting average of .300 in 2020, Yang Eui-ji and Kang Min-ho (Samsung) were always in front of him in the selection of the national team.

He has not been able to wear the national flag for more than a decade since he entered the Baseball World Cup in 2011 and the Asian Baseball Championship the following year as a member of the police baseball team, which was organized mainly by amateur or young players.

Starting with the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, a generational change was expected, and there was a direction to raise young catchers, not Yang Eui-ji and Kang Min-ho, and Choi Jae-hoon was naturally excluded.

However, ahead of this WBC, a consensus has been formed on the "most elite power composition." With Yang Eui-ji and Kang Min-ho out, Choi Jae-hoon, along with Park Dong-won (LG), finally got a chance.

He also joined Saipan's first camp last month and worked with the national team players. In particular, six Hanwha players joined, so they could not have difficulty adapting.

The final list was announced on the 6th, and Choi Jae-hoon could not hide his joy. In a video released on Hanwha's YouTube channel "Eagles TV," Choi Jae-hoon said, "I'm honored and very excited that the national team's roster has been confirmed. On the one hand, I'm also nervous. I hope you do well," he said.

As for his breathing with Ryu Hyun-jin and Jung Woo-joo, he said, "I think I can do well because I know how to throw it because I've always done it," and "Unfortunately, Dong-ju was sick and left, but I hope he gets better soon."

Moon Dong-ju, who throws the fastest ball in the national team, recently showed discomfort in his shoulder during the team's spring camp training and even stopped pitching in the bullpen. The exact condition of his body was also delivered to the national team, and he was eventually excluded from the final list because he "can't expect the best condition." Choi Jae-hoon sent a message of encouragement to his junior, who was deeply hurt.

"I don't think it would have been this bad without the fans. I think it went well like this amid the support. I'm going with my juniors, including Hyunjin, and I hope they do really well and perform well. I will finish well and go to Korea and try to win together," he said.

But this has also become a pointless story. Choi Jae-hoon also injured his finger, putting his dream of becoming a member of the national team on the verge of collapse. He showed a personality that encouraged his juniors, but Choi Jae-hoon was also unable to laugh due to his sudden injury.

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*This content was translated by AI.