Stars on Olympic baseball qualifying match roster
Some of the biggest stars in the domestic league headlined South Korea’s provisional roster for an Olympic baseball qualifying tournament announced on Tuesday, while the country’s major leaguers were left off.
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) unveiled the 60-man roster for the 2019 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier 12. There were 28 pitchers, five catchers, 15 infielders and 12 outfielders. Only those on the provisional roster will be eligible for the final squad of 28, which must be submitted to the WBSC by Oct. 3.
Managed by Kim Kyung-moon, South Korea will host Group C games for the Premier 12, which will double as the first qualifying tournament for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The Premier 12 features the top 12 countries in the world rankings. South Korea is the top-ranked nation in Group C at No. 3, followed by Cuba (No. 5), Australia (No. 7) and Canada (No. 10).
South Korea is the defending Olympic champion. Baseball was last contested in Beijing in 2008 and was left off the program for the two subsequent Olympics before returning to the fold for 2020.
Some of the usual suspects include Kiwoom Heroes first baseman Park Byung-ho, a two-time KBO MVP and the current league leader in home runs with 29, and NC Dinos catcher Yang Eui-ji, who leads the league in batting average (.364), on-base percentage (.446) and slugging percentage (.582).
Two of the league’s top lefthanders, Yang Hyeon-jong of the Kia Tigers and Kim Kwang-hyun of the SK Wyverns, also made the provisional roster.
Yang leads all South Korean pitchers with a 2.40 ERA, a remarkable turnaround after posting an 8.01 ERA in his first six starts. Yang has gone 4-0 with a 0.43 ERA in six games since the All-Star break.
Kim boasts a 2.54 ERA and is tops among homegrown pitchers with 15 victories. Kim was part of the 2008 Olympic gold medal team.
With players on the 40-man roster in the majors not eligible for the Premier 12, none of South Korea’s current three big leaguers — Ryu Hyun-jin of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Choo Shin-soo of the Texas Rangers and Choi Ji-man of the Tampa Bay Rays — got the call.
The KBO said it would take an injury to a player on the provisional roster or a change of stance by Major League Baseball for those big leaguers to make the national team.
The dozen participating nations at the Premier 12 have been divided into three groups of four. The Group A teams are No. 2 USA, No. 6 Mexico, No. 8 Netherlands and No. 12 Dominican Republic. Their games will take place in Guadalajara, Mexico.