“I think it’s started now.”
KT Wiz coach Lee Kang-chul will board a plane to the United States at Incheon International Airport on the 27th. Coach Lee will lead kt’s spring camp in Tucson, Arizona, USA, and from the 14th of next month, he will lead the training of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) team as a manager of the Korean national baseball team. As the tight schedule continues until March, when the WBC is held, we arrive at the camp site two days before the departure date of the 29th to plan for the new season.
The 2021 champion, kt, succeeded in advancing to fall baseball last year and solidified its image as a strong team. Due to injuries, they were at the bottom of the season at the beginning of the season, but finished 4th with 80 wins, 62 losses, 2 draws. In the semi-playoff against Kiwoom Heroes, he fell on his knees with 2 wins and 3 losses, and failed to challenge for a second consecutive victory.
It is an important time to start quenching to advance to the top 5. Coach Lee, along with future team coach Kim Ki-tae, must also work hard for Korean baseball. Coach Kim Ki-tae accompanies Lee and the national team as a hitting coach. Although kt sent two of the team’s leaders to the national team, they readily accepted it, saying, “The responsibility for baseball’s box office success and good results in international competitions is also great.” 안전놀이터
Coach Lee plans to leave kt behind for a while until March and do his best to advance to the Korean championship round (semifinals) at the WBC. In the first tournament in 2006, Korea wrote the legend of the semifinals, and in the second tournament in 2009, it achieved the feat of becoming runner-up. However, both the 2013 and 2017 competitions bowed their heads as they failed to advance to the final round. I am determined to take revenge for this competition.
The following is a Q&A with director Lee Kang-cheol.
-Leave early.
It was my first overseas camp in three years, so I wanted to check the training ground. I also wanted to encourage the players who went to training first. Go early and try to acclimate.
-It seems that you are worried because it is difficult to look at the camp of your team due to the preparation of the national team.
If you’re not worried, you’re a bad person (laughs). Still, I have to do my job faithfully. While I was in the national team, I focused and (kt) asked the coaching staff a lot. I think kt players will be similar to before. If you take a good look at the new rookies, it doesn’t seem too difficult. Anyway, the exhibition game is a time to build the pitchers’ shoulders, so I’ve talked about the rotation. There was an Asian Games in Hangzhou this year, so I prepared everything in case I was selected.
– When will major leaguers join the national team?
(Kim) Ha-seong decided to join when training at the Gocheok Sky Dome. Tommy Edman has not yet been contacted. He said that he would like to come to Gocheok. According to the rules of the tournament, major league players are not allowed to participate in their own practice games unless it is an official practice game. (As a major leaguer) I think I will be able to play from the time I practiced against the Hanshin Tigers in Osaka, Japan.
I think it went well for Haseong after playing an exhibition game (at Major League Spring Camp). He’ll hit the fast ball and come back. He said he would play for about 4 games.
-What is Choi Ji-man’s situation?
Contact has not been confirmed, so KBO is checking. There’s still time, so I guess we’ll have to wait. From the time I said that I was applying for salary adjustment with my team, I had prepared (replacement players).
-What if it’s a substitute player?
There are many players who can play first base, including Kim Hyun-soo, Park Hae-min, and Choi Jeong. There is also the possibility of additional positions being drawn. Still, the priority is for (Choi) Ji-man to join.
– The final entries for the Japanese national team were announced on the 26th.
All famous players in Japan came out anyway. The first thing we do is pass the preliminary round and go to the quarterfinals. To win, you need to win 3 matches in the qualifiers. That’s why we keep talking about the first game, Australia. If only Australia wins, an all-out war against Japan is possible.
-Recently, Choo Shin-soo spoke out about the selection of a national team player.
Because it’s a personal opinion. Every player has an idea. Everyone is talking about professional baseball.
– The competition is imminent.
I kept thinking about baseball. I think it’s started now. I didn’t know it when I was appointed as the national team coach in July of last year, but now I feel it a little bit. I feel a lot of responsibility.
– Public interest is great.
The competition came, and we picked good players. I want to play as many games as possible so that I can feel the heat again during the World Cup. I will do my best to play a good game with a great sense of responsibility. We ask for your support.