The Korean national baseball team will select new players and prepare for the World Baseball Classic (WBC) and LA Olympics beyond Premier 12.
KBO announced on the 12th, “The KBO Power Reinforcement Committee submitted 60 preliminary players for the 2024 Premier 12 ‘Team Korea’ to the World Baseball Softball Association (WBSC).”
The characteristic of the preliminary list of the national team is that it was selected mainly by players with low age who have shown good performance in the KBO League. Until now, the Korean national baseball team has participated in international competitions, mostly led by veterans, except for the Asian Games, which selected the national team with its own age limit, and the APBC (Asian Professional Baseball Championship), which only allows players under the age of 25 to participate. In particular, there was little generational change in the starting lineup, so Kim Kwang-hyun (SSG) and Yang Hyun-jong (KIA) had to play for the national team every time.
However, Kim Kwang-hyun and Yang Hyun-jong, as well as Ryu Hyun-jin (Hanwha), who returned to the KBO League from the Major League, were not selected for the preliminary roster for the upcoming national team. Kim has been struggling with nine wins and 10 losses and an earned run average of 5.36 in 28 games (146 innings) this season, but Yang has been excluded despite his stellar performances with 11 wins and three losses and an earned run average of 3.78 in 27 games (162 innings), and Ryu with nine wins and eight losses and an earned run average of 3.80 in 26 games (149 ⅓ innings).
KBO said, “The committee has made up a preliminary list of young players in their 20s who are expected to play at the 2026 WBC and 2028 LA Olympics. Following last year’s Hangzhou Asian Games and APBC, young players who should lead Korean baseball in the future are aiming to strengthen their competitiveness in high-quality international competitions through Premier 12.” Although the Premier 12 does not have an age limit regulation, the plan is to give young players who can play at the WBC and Olympics an opportunity to play on the international stage. 메이저놀이터
The pitchers included in the preliminary list on behalf of the veteran pitchers are Choi Won-tae, Yoo Young-chan, Lee Jong-joon, Son Joo-young (LG), Ko Young-pyo, Park Young-hyun, Kim Min, Um Sang-baek (KT), Cho Byung-hyun, Oh Won-seok (SSG), Kim Jae-yeol, Kim Si-hoon (NC), Kwak Bin, Kim Taek-yeon, Choi Ji-gang, Lee Young-ha, Lee Byung-hun (Dusan), Jeong Hae-young, Jeon Sang-hyun, Kwak Do-gyu (KIA), Kim Jin-wook (Lotte), Won Tae-in, Choi Ji-kwang, Hwang Dong-jae (Samsung), Moon Dong-ju, Kim Seo-hyun (Hanhwa), Ha Young-min, Joo Seung-woo, and Lee Kang-jun (Kium). The oldest player is Ko Young-pyo, who was born in 1991.
Most young players in their early 20s, including superstar Kim Do-young, made the list of players on the fielders list. Koo Ja-wook (Samsung) and Hong Chang-ki (LG), who were born in 1993, are the oldest.
Of course, the final roster of the Premier 12 may change. Under the WBSC regulations, the Premier 12 can change its preliminary roster until the final entry is confirmed. Therefore, players who are not included in the preliminary list of 60 players can also be selected for the final list in the future. “We will continue to consider replacing players other than the preliminary list at positions that require reinforcement, taking into account the final performance of the KBO League this year and the analysis of players’ capabilities in other countries,” the KBO said. However, the stance to appoint younger players is not expected to change much.
The Korean national baseball team has not made good performances in both the Tokyo Olympics and the WBC three previous games (2013, 2017, 2023). Since then, the team has been focusing on raising the next generation of national team stars in order to regain the moment of glory in international competitions. Attention is focusing on whether the team will be able to catch both the results and the future at the WBC and Premier 12, which will be a good test ahead of the Olympics.
