He is also left-handed this time. Choi Seung-yong (23) of the Doosan Bears will play in the match against Japan, which will enable him to advance to the Super Round.
The Korean national baseball team will have a showdown with Japan in the third Group B match of the 안전놀이터 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier 12 group league, which will take place at Taipei Dome in Taipei, Taiwan on Saturday. Japan, the champion team of the previous tournament, is considered the strongest in Group B.
Only two teams in one group can advance to the Super Round. Korea lost to Taiwan on Wednesday last week, and won against Cuba on Wednesday. Taiwan has two wins and Korea has one win and one loss, which could significantly change the number of cases.
Choi Seung-yong is the starting pitcher that Korea has chosen. Having joined Doosan in 2021 and made his debut in the first division in his first year, Choi had three wins, six losses, one save and an earned run average of 3.97 in 31 games. He is not the type who throws more than 100 pitches in a game, and is responsible for long innings with many strikeouts. Instead, he can play five to six innings even with few pitches by throwing aggressively.
Expectations were high again this season, but they fell short of that. He was expected to be appointed as the fourth starting pitcher ahead of the spring camp, but found a fatigue fracture in his elbow and returned to the first team only in July. In the end, Choi ended the regular season with two wins, one save and an earned run average of 6.00.
Despite his high ERA, he has made the national team roster for one reason. Having joined the Asian Baseball Championship last year, Ryu had two hits and one run in three games, three and two thirds of innings, and Ryu Joong-il caught his eye, proving his eligibility as a starting pitcher by allowing no runs on three hits in four and two thirds of innings in the second wild card game that he met with KT Wiz this year. Ryu, who lacked starting candidates, joined him in the rotation and registered him in the final roster.
Choi is also the only left-handed starting pitcher for the Korean national team. In the past, the Korean team often defeated Japan at the 2000 Sydney Olympics thanks to performances by left-handed starting pitchers such as Koo Dae-sung, Kim Kwang-hyun at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and Bong Joong-geun at the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
However, it is close only because they were aces. In fact, Kim Kwang-hyun has been sluggish since then, often playing against Japan. Even without Kim Kwang-hyun, Japan has defeated South Korea in six games since the last 2019 Premier 12.
