Pittsburgh Choi Ji-man, who failed to participate in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time in his life, poured out regret.
On the 6th, Choi Ji-man expressed his feelings about his exclusion from the entry through the management company. Choi Ji-man said, “The Pittsburgh club expressed its intention to oppose participation in the WBC due to the history of elbow surgery, and the final decision was made not to allow participation.” 메이저놀이터
He continued, “All athletes, regardless of sport, must have dreamed of running as a representative of their country wearing a national flag on their chest.” But maybe it was because I had high expectations, and the disappointment and frustration following the decision to not be accepted is very great,” he expressed regret.
In particular, Choi Ji-man said, “I am going through the normal rehabilitation process well, and recently there was no problem enough to go live betting. As well as joining the national team scheduled for the middle of this month, I was improving my physical condition in line with the schedule for the first round in Tokyo, so the disappointment is so great and it hurts.”
Choi Ji-man, who decided to go to the United States after graduating from Dongsan High School, has been active as a big leaguer since 2016 after spending a long time in the minors.
But he has never been selected for the national team so far. After Choi Ji-man became a big leaguer, he had the opportunity to participate in the 4th tournament in 2017, but he had just settled in the major leagues and failed to show clear results, so he could not even enter the preliminary entry.
Choi Ji-man, who turned 31 years old, was virtually the first and last chance to be selected for the WBC national team. Choi Ji-man also had high hopes for joining the national team, as he said, but ended up swallowing regrets as he was caught up in an injury.
Looking at the 30-man entry announced by the KBO, only Choi Ji-man, Park Byeong-ho (KT), and Choi Jeong (SSG) can hit a home run against the world stage. Excluding them, the main hitters stand out for their sophistication rather than strength, such as Lee Jung-hoo and Kim Hyun-soo. SSG outfielder Choi Ji-hoon, who was selected as a replacement for Choi Ji-man, is classified as a player with far better defense than batting.
Choi Ji-man unfortunately dropped out of the national team due to an injury, but did not give up his hope of re-launching. Choi Ji-man said, “My dream of joining the national team has been shattered, but if I get another chance next time, I want to make my dream come true.” added.
Choi Ji-man is a so-called ‘inside’ player who boosts the morale of the team with passionate cheering in the dugout as well as in the game. That’s why he had high expectations that he would be able to raise the atmosphere of the national team as well as baseball skills, so this fall is all the more regretful.