'How could this be?' Home run leader, 23-year-old catcher, left out of national team... Why only two soldiers not yet enlisted are heading to the Asian Games?

*This content was translated by AI.

The South Korean national baseball team set to compete in the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games has taken the bold step of excluding Heo In-seo (23, Hanwha Eagles), the league's home run leader among catchers.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) held a press conference at the Korea Press Center in Seoul's Jung District on the 11th and unveiled the final roster for the national team. Attending the press conference were national team manager Ryu Ji-hyun (55), KBO Jeon Ryeok-gang-hwa (Chairman), and Chae Myung-ju (53), a member of the KBSA Game Performance Improvement Committee, who explained the reasons behind the roster selection.

The Lee Beon (CEO) team selected players under the age of 25, as in the previous tournament, and chose three wildcards from players under the age of 29. Since the KBO League will continue without interruption during the Asian Games, the number of players from each club was set to a minimum of one and a maximum of three, including wildcards.

One of the most unexpected positions was catcher. As a generational shift has been underway at home plate across various KBO clubs, there are now many young catchers stepping into starting roles. Hanwha's Heo In-seo appeared to be the most likely candidate. Entering his fifth year in the league, Heo In-seo posted a .287 batting average (43 hits in 150 at-bats) over 52 games, with 11 home runs, 36 RBIs, 30 runs scored, a .355 on-base percentage, a .533 slugging percentage, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.888, delivering top-tier performance in the league.

However, Heo In-seo was not among the names called by the Jo Gye-hyeon (Chairman) team on this day. The primary reason cited for Heo In-seo, the home run leader among catchers, being left out of the Lee Beon (CEO) team was the need for balance among clubs. Hanwha had two players selected: Moon Hyun-bin (22), the No. 3 hitter and left fielder, and Noh Si-hwan (26), the No. 4 hitter and third baseman.

Both Noh Si-hwan and Moon Hyun-bin are indispensable core players for Hanwha and are essential for the September standings race. Moreover, Heo In-seo has already fulfilled his military obligation through the Army Baseball Team (Sangmu), making his exclusion from the roster less burdensome.

Manager Ryu Ji-hyun and the Jo Gye-hyeon (Chairman) team sought understanding from various KBO clubs multiple times regarding player selection. Manager Ryu took the final word himself, stating, "I want to reiterate that we made a difficult decision. The Asian Games period is a very sensitive time for the standings race. However, many managers, presidents, and general managers were very cooperative. I am truly grateful for that."

However, attention turned to the background when Kim Hyung-jun (27, NC Dinos), who had been expected to be the starting catcher for the next-generation national team, was not selected even as a wildcard. Coincidentally, they were replaced by Jo Hyung-woo (24, SSG Landers) and Kim Geon-hee (22, Kiwoom Heroes), both of whom have yet to resolve their military service issues. Both players have emerged as starting catchers since last year and are leading their teams as the next-generation home plate anchors.

Manager Ryu Ji-hyun recalled, "It is true that we considered catchers as wildcard candidates. Kim Hyung-jun achieved good results and grew significantly during the previous Hangzhou Asian Games, establishing himself as a national team catcher. In fact, during the Hangzhou Games, there were far fewer catchers available than now. At that time, Kim Hyung-jun had a knee injury, but there were no other options."

He continued, "However, this tournament offered a wider range of options." Jo Hyung-woo has been playing as a starting catcher since last year and felt a sense of stability during evaluation games in November last year. "This season, he has shown an even more comfortable and stable performance than last year," he explained.

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*This content was translated by AI.