Late addition to nat'l baseball team ready to take on any role at World Baseball Classic

All News 15:17 February 06, 2023

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Feb. 6 (Yonhap) -- SSG Landers outfielder Choi Ji-hoon will never know just how close he came to making the South Korean national team for the World Baseball Classic (WBC), when the roster was first unveiled on Jan. 4.

And after being named a last-minute replacement Monday, the 25-year-old probably couldn't care less.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) said Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Choi Ji-man had to be dropped from the national team for medical reasons. The Pirates had filed a "medical objection" to the WBC organizers, based on Choi's elbow operation in November last year, and the tournament organizing committee upheld it in a recent ruling.

Instead of choosing another first baseman, South Korean manager Lee Kang-chul went with Choi Ji-hoon, an elite defender in the outfield with speed to burn and solid bat-to-ball skills. He is primarily a center fielder but can also play both corner outfield positions.

In this file photo from Nov. 8, 2022, Choi Ji-hoon of the SSG Landers celebrates after scoring a run against the Kiwoom Heroes during the bottom of the third inning of Game 6 of the Korean Series at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, some 30 kilometers west of Seoul. (Yonhap)

In a statement released by the Landers hours after the announcement, Choi said he hadn't expected to get the late call from the national team. Choi had been on the 50-man interest list announced late last year but wasn't one of five outfielders to survive the cut in January.

"It's better late than never," Choi said. "I don't think I will be starting, but I will try to help the team in any way I can and do the best in whatever role I take on."

He said his veteran Landers teammate, Choi Jeong, had talked to him about how playing for the country in such a big tournament could help the young outfielder's career in the long run.

In this file photo from Nov. 8, 2022, SSG Landers right fielder Choi Ji-hoon makes a leaping grab on a foul ball hit by Park Jun-tae of the Kiwoom Heroes during the top of the fifth inning of Game 6 of the Korean Series at Incheon SSG Landers Field in Incheon, some 30 kilometers west of Seoul. (Yonhap)

"He kept telling me, 'You're good enough to go. It'd be great if we can play together,'" Choi Ji-hoon said of the third baseman who was picked for the team last month. "I didn't think it could become a reality."

Choi Ji-hoon's third season in the KBO in 2022 also ended up being his best so far. He batted .304/.362/.427, with 10 home runs, 61 RBIs, 31 steals and 93 runs scored, all of them career highs. He played all 144 games in the regular season and six more games in the Korean Series, where the Landers knocked off the Kiwoom Heroes for the championship.

Last year, Choi ranked fourth among all position players with 5.48 wins above replacement (WAR), meaning he was worth nearly 5.5 wins more than a replacement-level player.

Three players ahead of Choi were all outfielders, and those three, Lee Jung-hoo of the Kiwoom Heroes, Jose Pirela of the Samsung Lions and Na Sung-bum of the Kia Tigers, captured Golden Gloves, awarded to the best overall player at each position. Choi finished fourth in the outfield voting.

By this and other measures, Choi was the third-best Korean outfielder in the KBO last year. But the national team staff left him off the roster initially in favor of some veterans, including NC Dinos right fielder Park Kun-woo, the only right-handed hitting outfielder for South Korea.

In this file photo from Nov. 4, 2022, Choi Ji-hoon of the SSG Landers heads to first after hitting a single against the Kiwoom Heroes during the top of the first inning of Game 4 of the Korean Series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. (Yonhap)

It took a medical-related change to another player, but Choi will be joining Lee and Na on the national team. The latter two should have the starting center field and the right field jobs locked down, along with captain Kim Hyun-soo in the left field. Choi will come in handy as a late-inning pinch runner or defensive replacement with some pop in his bat.

"I've been working hard all offseason, and I will speed things up a bit so that I'll be ready in time for the tournament," said Choi, who has been in the Landers spring training in Vero Beach, Florida, since the start of February. "I don't take this opportunity lightly. It comes with a sense of responsibility. I want to do my absolute best to help the team win."

South Korea's first game at the WBC is March 9 against Australia at Tokyo Dome.

South Korea will also face Japan, China and the Czech Republic in Pool B. The top two teams after round-robin play will reach the quarterfinals. All preliminary and quarterfinal games for Pool B nations will take place at Tokyo Dome.

LoanDepot Park, home of the Miami Marlins, will host the semifinals and the championship final.