Choi Ji-man, ‘the first national representative in his life’, will he become another ‘Big Choi’
“It’s very unfortunate that I was excluded from the national team because I was going to the United States.”
Dongsan High School catcher Choi Ji-man (Pittsburgh), who had announced that he would advance to the major leagues in 2009, looked very disappointed when he heard the news that he had been excluded from the youth team. I knew that players who declared going abroad according to the Korea Baseball Softball Association’s internal rules would, in principle, be excluded from the national team selection, but I expressed my regret when the list was officially announced. Gaeseong High School catcher Jeong Min-woo (former Samsung) and Sangwon High School catcher Kim Min-soo (Samsung) were selected to replace him.
Since then, Choi Ji-man has always expressed his desire to join the national team whenever he has a chance. He talked about the Taegeuk mark whenever the WBC was held, as well as the Asian Games and Olympics. However, he had no choice but to settle his mind and focus on the regular season again as he seemed to be excluding foreign players.
For that reason, Choi Ji-man, who entered the final entry in this WBC, has no choice but to feel different. It is because he can play for the country by acquiring the Taegeuk mark he so longed for. It may be natural since he has consistently shown special interest in the Taegeuk mark since the youth national team.
The joining of Choi Ji-man is significant in two aspects. One is that if you show good performance in the WBC, you can take a step forward in your team, Pittsburgh. If so, it could be of great help to the national team.
Coincidentally, Choi Ji-man’s joining has a lot in common with Choi Hee-seop’s joining in 2006. Hee-seop Choi, who was a platoon at the time, but had experience in the big leagues, made the biggest surprise in the first inning of the tournament by hitting a wedge three-run home run in the match against the United States. Expectations are high in that Choi Ji-man can play 메이저놀이터 that role this time.