Correspondent Moon Dae-hyeon = Baseball team’s outfield resource Park Geon-woo (33, NC Dinos) is sweating with determination to help the team ahead of his 2nd World Baseball Classic (WBC) appearance. .
Park Kun-woo was proudly named in the final 30-man list of the 2023 WBC national team announced on the 4th. This is his 4th Taegeuk mark.스포츠토토
Park Kun-woo, who joined the Doosan Bears in 2009, wore his professional first national team uniform at the 2017 WBC.
He was dropped from his initial roster, but Choo Shin-soo (currently SSG Landers), who was a member of the Texas Rangers at the time, returned the Taegeuk mark to the opposition of his team, and was named as a substitute.
His performance was insignificant. Among the best outfielders of the time, such as Choi Hyung-woo (KIA Tigers), Son Ah-seop (then Lotte Giants, current NC), Min Byung-hun (then Doosan, retired), and Lee Yong-gyu (then Hanwha Eagles, current Kiwoom Heroes), there was no place for Park Kun-woo. He only played as a runner in the match against Taiwan.
At that time, the national team was eliminated in the first round, and Park Kun-woo’s first national team career ended in vain.
Since then, he has shown steady performance in the league and has leaped to become a regular member of the national team. However, his position was not great.
He was also selected for the 2018 Jakarta Palembang Asian Games list, but was replaced by Lee Jung-hoo (Kiwoom) after dropping out due to an injury. Afterwards, in the 2019 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier 12, it was mainly used as a major defense or pinch hitter, and only 1 hit in 5 at-bats out of 6 games.
He also participated in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but this time he was also a backup. It was only in the bronze medal game, which was his last game, that he started and scored a hit, but was replaced during the game. The national team finished in 4th place, and Park Gun-woo also bowed his head.
Park Gun-woo, who posted the best performance since 2017 with a batting average of 0.336 and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.867 last season, is about to compete in his second WBC appearance by boarding Kang-Cheol Lee, who will start the 2023 WBC. It is a great advantage that he is currently the only right-handed outfielder in the national team.
However, looking at it calmly, it is unlikely that Park Gun-woo will be the starting pitcher again this time.
Currently, the outfield consists of Lee Jung-hoo, who is about to advance to the United States, captain Kim Hyeon-soo, experienced Park Hae-min (above LG Twins), and Na Seong-beom (KIA).
Even if he is ahead in the competition with Choi Ji-hoon (SSG Landers), who wore the Taegeuk mark for the first time this time, it does not seem easy to compete with the rest of the players. Even director Lee Kang-cheol has classified Park Kun-woo as a backup agent.
Since 2017, he has been selected in every international competition, but the current situation must be regrettable for Park Gun-woo, who always finished the competition unfortunately.
However, he himself is showing a calm reaction. Wearing the Taegeuk mark itself is a joy and honor, but his position is that participating in the game is not his domain.
Park Gun-woo said, “It’s an honor to be on the roster because there are so many outstanding players.”