The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier 12 will be held in November. We need to select a national team. There is a figure at the center of attention. He is Korean Monster Ryu Hyun-jin (37) of the Hanwha Eagles.유흥알바
It started in February. Ryu Hyun-jin returned to the KBO League after signing a contract with the Hanwha Eagles. At the same time, the shackles were lifted. During his big league career, only the World Baseball Classic was possible. This is due to MLB policy.
KBO Leaguer Ryu Hyun-jin has no problem wearing the national flag. His last appearance as a member of the Korean national team is at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. “I want to play as a player representing the Republic of Korea once again,” Ryu said.
Approximately four months have passed and the Korea Baseball Organization’s power enhancement committee has been convened. This is the first meeting to select the players for the Premier 12 national team. Nothing has been announced in detail. The team is simply scanning the players.
“There was nothing else. It has been a little over three months since the opening of the season. We discussed which players are doing well and who are the new players. We are not in the right stage to discuss the selection now,” Cho said.
The KBO has a clear policy. It is to nurture young players. At the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games last year, a 25-year-old boy band was included. At the 2023 Asian Baseball Championship (APBC), where the age limit is limited to 24, a large number of Hangzhou members were also included.
The results came out. He proudly won the gold medal at the Asian Games. He overturned the evaluation that he was the weakest player ever. In APBC, he also advanced to the final and had a tight match with Japan. LG and KT players played a great match even though they were not selected during the Korean Series. The runner-up was unfortunate, but I gained confidence.
The KBO and the Korean national team are aiming to win the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics again after cleaning up their past “disaster” at the 2026 WBC. They develop young players in the long run. Chances are high that the Premier 12 will follow the same path. Just in time, there are many young and young players who stand out in the league.
There is a variable. Whether wild cards are applied or not is the case. At the Asian Games, Park Se-woong and Choi Won-joon (KIA) were also taken. At the time of APBC, there was only one Jihoon Choi (SSG). Only players under 29 were taken. This was also decided by the KBO.
Given that the Premier 12 national team is also singled out with the same negligence, it is not easy for Ryu to play for the national team. However, the KBO’s rules allow Ryu to play with his players.
Ryu will remain as a pillar of the starting lineup for the national team. He is showing good pitching after recovering from his sluggish performance in the early days. In the recent six games, he had an ERA of 0.73 with five QS innings. The monster is a monster.
There are still stumbling blocks. Veteran players of their age, including Yang Eui-ji, Kim Kwang-hyun, and Kim Hyun-soo, have already announced their retirement from the national team last year. There are clearly aspects that Ryu does not fit the stance of a young national team.
Ryu is 39 years old at the 2026 WBC and 41 years old at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Realistically, it is difficult to select a player. If he picks one this time, he will be selected as the starting pitcher only for the Premier 12. If he shows sluggish performance, the fallout will be even bigger.
Now he has taken the first step. He will maintain his stance and create the best member. The goal is far behind him anyway. What will the KBO and the Korean national team do with Ryu Hyun-jin? The first entry submission is September 10, and the final entry submission is October 10.