"Eat Korea!" Taiwan's mischievous representative steps down from WBC due to side injury →"It was minor, but DET wanted to return.""

*This content was translated by AI.

Taiwan's national infielder Li Hao-yu (23, minor under the Detroit Tigers), who was embroiled in a "controversy over disparaging Korea" due to a conversation with fellow Korean Jamai Jones (29) during the spring camp, will return to his team without playing due to injury.

According to local media and foreign media in Taiwan, Li Hao-yu was finally excluded from the World Baseball Classic (WBC) national team entry due to a side injury that occurred during a practice game in Miyazaki. Initially, expectations were high as a key infield force for the Taiwanese national team, but he was eliminated before he even took the stage.

Taiwan's national team coach Zeng Hao-ju said, "Ri Hao-yu's injury was not very serious, but his team, the Detroit Tigers, strongly asked him to return immediately because they were concerned about the player's condition." The Taiwanese national team seems to have been forced to return to the request made by the Major League club to protect prospects.

Taiwan sent the result sheet to the Detroit club after conducting an MRI (magnetic resonance test) on the 4th, but it seems that it did not get permission to play. Li Hao-yu is currently considered a key infield prospect in the minor leagues under Detroit and is aiming to be promoted to the major leagues this season. A number of foreign media have also described it as a "somewhat fatal loss."

Li Hao-yu became controversial just before the tournament when his conversation with fellow Korean Jamai Jones was made public during the spring camp. At the time, he made playful remarks aimed at disparaging Korea, which spread online. Later, Li Hao-yu said, "I want to convey it directly in English," and explained that "American culture tends to find it fun to exchange jokes with each other," and that it originated from a light prank with Jones at the time.

Ri Hao-yu then said, "If anyone felt disrespected due to my actions, I sincerely apologize. He bowed his head, saying, "I had no intention of doing that." He left an explanation that the controversial remarks or gestures were not aimed at disparaging a specific country, but were "cultural differences" that occurred in the process of getting used to American baseball culture.

In the end, Ri Hao-yu returned to his team's training camp without even having a chance to quell the controversy with his skills. After recovering from the injury, he will start the season in the minor leagues and return to a situation where he has to pursue a big league call-up.

Meanwhile, the Taiwanese national team, which lost its key infielder, urgently called infielder Chang Chaeng-yu (26, Wei Quan Dragons) as a substitute to complete the entry change. Zhang Chen-yu, who played in the Premier 12 in 2024, entered Tokyo the night before (4th).

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*This content was translated by AI.