Pittsburgh Pirates Choi Ji-man was eventually excluded from the final entry for the World Base Classic (WBC).
KBO said in a press release on the 6th, ‘SSG outfielder Choi Ji-hoon will join the Korean national team. Yesterday, the WBC Organizing Committee, WBCI, announced that Choi Ji-man could not participate in the KBO.
According to the KBO, Pittsburgh expressed a medical objection to the WBCI for the reason of Choi Ji-man’s surgical history, and accordingly, the WBCI held an injury review committee to deliberate on whether or not to allow Choi to participate, and made a decision not to allow it. .
Choi Ji-man returned to Korea after the end of last season and underwent an operation to remove a bone fragment in his right elbow at a hospital in Incheon on November 22nd. Since this surgery usually takes 8 to 12 weeks to rehabilitate, there were no major problems preparing for this year’s regular season as well as this WBC.
However, the Pittsburgh team made a decision not to participate after much consideration. The reason is simple. This is because injuries can recur, and since he is a newly transferred player, he needs to focus only on spring training. Choi Ji-man, who played for the Tampa Bay Rays for 4 years and 6 months, was traded 1:1 for Pittsburgh Minor League pitcher Jack Hartman on November 11 and moved the team. 스포츠토토
The WBCI stipulates that the reasons for inadmissibility for injury-related participation are: ▶ Athletes who have been on the injured list for more than 60 days, including 15 or more of the last 60 days in the previous season ▶ A player who has missed 2 games of the last 3 games of the previous season due to injury Athletes (including postseason) ▶Athletes who underwent surgery after the opening day of the previous season or are scheduled to have surgery after the season ▶Athletes who were listed on the injured list on the last day of August of the previous season.
Choi Ji-man falls under the third reason. It is a judgment that Pittsburgh cannot force a player three months after surgery to participate in the actual game. Of course, this is optional. Even if it falls under the four reasons, if both the player and the club want to participate, they can participate.
If interpreted differently, it means that Pittsburgh is evaluating Choi Ji-man as the team’s main power this season.