LG's finish, which is less than 140 kilometers away from the national team's ace replacement... Should I cry or laugh at the national team Twins

*This content was translated by AI.

The national team (National University) Twins, which used to be a joke, became a reality. LG Twins closer Yoo Young-chan (29) will participate in the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC).

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) confirmed LG Yoo Young-chan as a replacement for Won Tae-in (26) of the Samsung Lions, who has become difficult to participate in the WBC due to injuries on the 15th. I asked the WBC Organizing Committee to approve the replacement of the players," he said.

It's a rather unexpected choice. Won Tae-in is the league's ace representing the KBO. Ryu Hyun-jin (Hanwha Eagles), Kwak Bin (Doosan Bears), Song Seung-ki, Son Joo-young (LG Twins), Ko Young-pyo, and So Hyung-joon (KT Wiz) have plenty of starting resources. Still, it is also true that the selection of a replacement player with similar weight to Won Tae-in was expected.

Moreover, Yoo Young-chan was slowly raising his pace in time for the opening of the 2026 regular season. The fastball speed, which was recently known through the LG club, was 139 kilometers per hour and 137 kilometers per hour as of February 3. It is a less competitive speed for WBC batters who are familiar with 150km/h fastballs. It was not something to worry about until the selection of the national team. Yoo Young-chan did not play the full season last year due to elbow surgery at the end of 2024. Since the preparation period was short due to last year's Korean Series victory and various events, LG also took more care to raise Yoo Young-chan's condition by 100%.

At the time of the second bullpen pitching, LG's first-team pitching coach Kim Kwang-sam said, "Yoo Young-chan is not the type to get his body on track right from the beginning. So a systematic build-up process is needed. He once said, "I'm preparing well for my scheduled schedule, with the style of slowly raising my body more than other players."

However, the situation became a bit urgent as national team coach Ryu Ji-hyun chose Yoo Young-chan, who is a little more familiar. There is a limit to raising the speed for 15 more days, but coach Ryu Ji-hyun chose a healthy and certain Yoo Young-chan card.

The national team began its last quenching in Okinawa, Japan, from the 15th, and now it really needs clear resources. Yoo Young-chan was the most reliable resource as he participated in Saipan camp in January. In recent bullpen pitching, he showed off his best condition by throwing more than 50 pitches mixed with all pitches. In addition to the existing Park Dong-won, Son Joo-young, Song Seung-ki, Park Hae-min, Moon Bo-kyung, and Shin Min-jae, LG sent Yoo Young-chan to Ryu Ji-hyun, producing a total of seven national representatives.

There are also some concerns about Yoo Young-chan's replacement. Fans who support the national team cannot help but worry about whether Yoo Young-chan can actually help, and LG fans will have an impact on the regular season after the national team. First of all, the former is more like a tilt. Yoo Young-chan has already won the Korean Series twice, so he has been recognized for his stability. He has a lot of experience in multi-innings in urgent situations, and he has enough ability to block one inning even if it's not a fastball.

Concerns about the regular season were also relieved by coach Kim Kwang-sam's joining the national team. Coach Kim Kwang-sam filled the void with manager Kim Won-hyung's appointment as Doosan's head coach. Coach Kim, who has taken Yoo Young-chan from the Arizona spring camp, is also expected to be of great help to coach Ryu Ji-hyun. Above all, Yoo Young-chan's experience in international competitions, which he will not get even with money, makes him look more positively at the selection of the national team. This is also the reason why head coach Yeom Kyung-yeop freely supports the selection of LG players such as Yoo Young-chan to the national team.

Coach Yeom said at LG's 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," he said. For that reason, he said, "Except for (veteran) Park Hae-min, the experience of the national team is all a plus factor for our team's players," but added, "Given the future of LG and the players, it is much more valuable to go to WBC."

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*This content was translated by AI.