The Korea Baseball Softball Association (KBSA) named Joong-il Ryu, a four-time Korean Series winner, the Korean National Baseball Team manager for the 2022 Asian Games. The Yonhap news agency reports that the appointment will be finalized at a KBSA board meeting sometime in March.
"It's always an honor to put on the national team uniform, whether as a player or a coach," Ryu said to the local press. "But I can't afford to just sit here and feel good about myself. I feel the weight of responsibility."
Ryu, 58, spent his whole professional playing career (1987-1999) with the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) league. The right-handed infielder posted a .265 batting average over 1,095 games.
After retiring, Ryu started his career as a coach with the Lions. He became the manager in 2011 and led the Lions to four consecutive Korean Series titles.
He also managed the LG Twins from 2018 to 2020.
Ryu managed Korea at the World Baseball Classic 2013 and to the Asian Games 2014 title (pictured above). He also served as a coach on the 2006 (bronze medal) and 2009 (silver medal) World Baseball Classic National Teams.
The Asian Games are scheduled from 18 to 24 September in Hangzhou, China. Korea will send a U-24 team. Each of the 10 KBO clubs will be required to release up to three players. The league won't schedule a mid-season break for the tournament.
