Five WBSC Premier12 stars, three Major League Baseball (MLB) players, two Beijing 2008 gold medallists and 12 Tokyo 2020 Olympians have been included in Korea's 30-strong squad for the World Baseball Classic 2023, which takes place in March.
Of the three current MLB players on the World Baseball Classic roster, former Gold Glove winner Tommy Edman, 27, plays second base for the St. Louis Cardinals. His mother, Maureen Kwak, was born in Korea, making him eligible for the World Baseball Classic.
The other two are Ha-Seong Kim (shortstop, San Diego Padres), a WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup alum and a WBSC Premier12 2019 star, and slugger Ji-man Choi of the Pittsburgh Pirates, a WBSC U-12 and U-18 Baseball World Cup alum.
Four more players have MLB experience: pitchers Hwang-Hyun Kim (pictured above), a Beijing 2008 gold medallist and a WBSC Premier12 alum, and Hyeon-jong Yang, a WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup and Premier12 alum; infielder Byung-Ho Park, who helped Korea win the inaugural WBSC Premier12, and outfielder Hyun-Soo Kim, a Beijing 2008 gold medallist and a Premier12 2019 winner.
This is the full 30-man roster announced by manager Kang-Chul Lee.
PITCHERS (15) Hwang-Hyun Kim, Hyeon-jong Yang, Yun-Sik Kim, Eui-lee Lee, Chang-mo Koo, Woo-suk Go, Woo-young Jung, Young-Pyo Ko, Hyeong-jun So, Yong-chan Lee, Tae-in Won, Won-Jung Kim, Se-Woong Park, Been Gwak, Cheol-Won Jeong.
CATCHERS (2) Eui-Ji Yang, Ji-Young Lee
INFIELDERS (8) Tommy Edman, Ha-Seong Kim, Byung-Ho Park, Jung Choi, Hye-Song Kim, Ji-Hwan Oh, Byung-Ho Park, Baek-Ho Kang
OUTFIELDERS (5) Jung-hoo Lee, Hyun-soo Kim, Hae-min Park, Sung-bum Na, Kun-woo Park
Euilee Lee, Woo-suk Go, Young-Pyo Ko, Tae-in Won, Se-Qoong Park, Euiji Yang, Hye-Song Kim, Ji-Hwan Oh, Jung-Hoo Lee, Hyun-Soo Kim, Hae-Min Park, Kun-Woo Park all featured on the Tokyo 2020 Olympics roster.
World No. 4 Korea will compete in Group B in Tokyo from 9-13 March and face No. 1 Japan, No. 10 Australia, No. 15 Czech Republic and No. 30 China.
