“I thought (Jeong) Woo-young would be advantageous.”
Coach Joong-il Ryu and KBO Power Reinforcement Committee Chairman Gye-hyeon Jo held a baseball game to play in the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, which will be held in September at the Baseball Center in Dogok-dong, Seoul on the 9th. The 24-member national team was announced and held a press conference.스포츠토토
The Hangzhou Asian Games team consists of 12 pitchers, 2 catchers, 7 infielders and 3 outfielders, totaling 24 players. In order to wear the ‘Taegeuk mark’ in the Asian Games, the average age was 23.21 years old, the youngest ever, as the players were selected with conditions such as 25 years old and 4 years or less as a pro.
Ryu Joong-il-ho selected Park Se-woong (Lotte) and Koo Chang-mo (NC) through wild cards. And Woo-Seok Ko, Woo-Young Jung (LG), Young-Hyun Park (KT), Tae-In Won (Samsung), Kyun-Ah Na (Lotte), Bin Gwak (Doosan), Dong-Ju Moon (Hanwha), Eui-Ri Lee, and Ji-Min Choi (KIA) joined. Among the amateur players, Jang Hyeon-seok (Masan Yongma High School), who is called ‘the biggest high school fish’, was also named.
What is the background of Jang Hyun-seok joining the national team? Chairman Jo Gye-hyun said, “Jang Hyun-seok has been checked since March. The Asian Games are amateur competitions, and they also include a dimension that gives dreams and hopes for the development of amateur baseball.” I was selected because I received the best score in the speed and game management categories.”
Jang Hyeon-seok is mainly active as a starting pitcher at Yongma High School. What role will he play on the national team? Coach Joong-il Ryu said, “You have to look at your physical condition,” and said, “It is possible to start and throw long innings as the second pitcher. I will decide how to use it after seeing the situation at that time.”
In the case of this national team, many starting pitchers were named to the national team roster. Seven out of a total of 12 pitchers, more than half of them, are starting pitchers in the KBO League. Excluding amateur Jang Hyeon-seok, there are four professional bullpen agents: Go Woo-seok, Jung Woo-young, Park Young-hyeon, and Choi Ji-min.
Coach Joong-il Ryu is expected to use a 1+1 strategy through many selection resources. He explained, “There are a lot of starting agents, but we play 5 games. Baseball is a game of pitching. I will have to look at the situation, but I think I should run it to go to Ko Woo-seok (finally) with my favorite 1+1 strategy.”
During Q&A with reporters, director Ryu Joong-il also received a question about Jung Woo-young. Jung Woo-young was appointed as a ‘reliable man’ by manager Ryu Joong-il when he was in charge of the LG Twins, and he knows his strengths and weaknesses better than anyone else. However, Jung Woo-young’s skills this year are somewhat lower than in previous years.
Jung Woo-young participated in 29 games this year and recorded an average ERA of 5.04 with 4 losses and 10 holds. Considering that he has only shown good looks since his debut, it is clear that his grades do not suit Jung Woo-young. Because of this, Jung Woo-young was not even nominated for the All-Star Game Best 12.
Jung Woo-young is sluggish, but on the contrary, there is a player from the same sidearm who is showing a good figure. That is Park Myung-geun. ‘Rookie’ Park Myeong-geun, who was selected by LG as the 27th overall pick in the 3rd round of the 2023 rookie draft, recorded 1 win, 4 holds, 5 saves and an average ERA of 2.35 in 25 games this year.
Director Ryu Joong-il also seems to have struggled with Jung Woo-young and Park Myeong-geun. When the command tower said, “There is a reputation that Jung Woo-young’s pitch is not as good as last year,” he said, “I had to choose one of Jung Woo-young and Park Myeong-geun, and I had a lot of trouble with the members of the Power Reinforcement Committee. (Jeong) Woo-young has experience, ( Park) Myeong-geun is a rookie,” he said. “When I went to the international competition, I thought that (Jeong) Woo-young, who throws more than 150km, would be advantageous rather than a breaking pitch pitcher, so I chose it.”
Coach Joong-il Ryu’s goal for this tournament is definitely a gold medal. He said, “This tournament will be the first step in laying the foundation for a good performance at the WBC in 2026.” I will do my best to get it,” he said vigorously.
