Once there were eight of us...' Only one Korean ML → Korean baseball Korea address connected to WBC [SHINHWA SEOP'S SPORTS INSIDE]

*This content was translated by AI.

The 2026 Major League Baseball (ML) regular season will begin on the 26th (Korea time) against the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants. Lee Jung-hoo (28, San Francisco Giants) is the only Korean player on this year's opening roster.

Kim Hye-sung (27, LA Dodgers) went down to Triple-A, while Song Sung-moon (30, San Diego Padres) and Kim Ha-sung (31, Atlanta Braves) failed to play due to injuries. Ko Woo-seok (28, Detroit Tigers) and Bae Ji-hwan (27, New York Mets) are also in a position to expect a call-up in the minor leagues.

It's a different story. Ten years ago, in 2016, as many as eight Korean players played in the Major League. However, it decreased one by one every year, and only one person remained this year. In the season, there is a high possibility that some additional players will come up to the big leagues, but it is also a cross-section of the current state of Korean baseball following the last World Baseball Classic (WBC).

A total of 28 Korean players have played even one game in the Major League. Starting with Park Chan-ho in 1994, Cho Jin-ho in 1998, top high school and college players such as Kim Byung-hyun, Kim Sun-woo, Bong Jung-geun, Seo Jae-eung, Choi Hee-seop, Baek Cha-seung, Choo Shin-soo and Ryu Je-guk continued to enter the Major League until the mid-2000s.

The top stars who dominated the KBO League also challenged the big league. After Sanghoon Lee in 2000, Koo Dae-sung made the major league stage in 2005. The advancement of KBO league players to the U.S., which had been rare for a while, culminated in Ryu Hyun-jin and Lim Chang-yong in 2013, Kang Jung-ho in 2015, and Oh Seung-hwan, Park Byung-ho, Lee Dae-ho and Kim Hyun-soo in 2016 making their big league debuts at once.

But there were not many long-running players. Most of them played for a short year or three to four years before making a comeback in Korea and continuing their career. Among the past Koreans, only three players have played in the Major League for more than 10 years: Park Chan-ho (1994-2010), Choo Shin-soo (2005-2020), and Ryu Hyun-jin (2013-2023).

Kim Ha-sung, Lee Jung-hoo, Kim Hye-sung and Song Sung-moon, former KBO League Heroes, entered the U.S. stage one after another in the 2020s. Amateur players continued to challenge themselves, but only two players, Park Hyo-joon (30, former Oakland Athletics) and Bae Ji-hwan, achieved their big league dreams.

It is now difficult to even compare with Japan, which is considered the strongest player in Asian baseball. In Japan, there are more than 10 players who play as the main players of the team in the Major League this season.

Starting with the world's top baseball star Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers), Yamamoto Yoshinobu, Sasaki Rocky, and Shota Imanaga (Chicago Cubs), Yuki Matsui (San Diego), and Yusei Kikuchi (LA Angels) on the same team are representative pitchers. Batters include Seiya Suzuki (Cubs), Munetaka Murakami (Chicago White Sox), and Kazuma Okamoto (Toronto Blue Jays). The last WBC national team included eight major leaguers from their own countries.

Of course, prospects and stars' overseas expansion is also a "double-edged sword." There is a concern that it may hinder the success and revitalization of the domestic league, but in the long run, it can be an opportunity to raise the level of Korean baseball through the acquisition and exchange of advanced baseball.

Coincidentally, the number of Korean major leaguers around the period is somewhat correlated with the late 2000s (the semifinals of the WBC in 2006, the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and the runner-up at the WBC in 2009), when Korean baseball was in its heyday on the international stage. This is why baseball players must face our reality, which is now impossible to guarantee the "second place in Asia."

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*This content was translated by AI.