Major leaguers Kim Ha-seong (San Diego) and Tommy Hyeon-soo Edman (St.
The national team, led by head coach Lee Kang-cheol, will have an official evaluation match against Orix, a Japanese professional baseball team, at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan on the 6th at 12:00 noon.
Kim Ha-seong and Edmund go on a business trip as table setters. It is the first trip to a real game after joining the national team. The two players did not participate in the practice match against SSG held at the Gocheok Dome in Seoul on the 3rd. It was because major leaguers could only play in the official evaluation match supervised by the WBC secretariat from the 6th due to problems such as injuries and insurance.
Coach Lee Kang-cheol, who welcomed Edmon, who has a Korean mother, to join the national team regretted that Kim Ha-seong and Edmon had joined the national team early but could not play a practice match, and waited only for the official evaluation match. He plans to participate in two evaluation matches against Orix on the 6th and against Hanshin on the 7th. Regarding the batting order of the national team, coach Lee said, “I think of Kim Ha-seong and Edmund as table setters.”
On the 5th, the national team completed the official training assigned by the WBC Secretariat at Maishima Buffaloes Stadium in Osaka, Japan. Kim Ha-seong and Edmund showed agile defense by practicing double play while receiving fungos at the shortstop and second baseman positions.
The keystone combination of Kim Ha-sung and Edman is also attracting attention from foreign media. Recently, MLB.com analyzed the strength of the Korean national team and evaluated, “The shortstop and second baseman guarded by Kim Ha-seong and Tommy Edman can be the strongest defensive line in this tournament.”
Edmon won the National League second baseman Gold Glove in 2021, and Kim Ha-seong was selected as one of the three National League shortstop Gold Glove finalists last year. We are looking forward to the collaboration of the two players who boasted top-notch defense in the major leagues. 카지노
Go Young-pyo, pitcher of the national team, said with a smile, “I want to tell you to catch well because I will trust the defense and induce a lot of ground balls with two-seam.”
Also, the attack power is not too bad. Kim Ha-seong recorded an OPS of .708 in 150 games last year with a batting average of .251, 11 homers, 59 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. Edmund played in 153 games, batting 2.65, 13 home runs, 57 RBIs, and 32 stolen bases for a .724 OPS. Coach Lee plans to entrust the two players with the first or second batting order.
Ha-seong Kim said, “I talk a lot with Edmund and we are getting to know each other. He talked a lot about defensive formations. I want to catch a lot of outcounts with Edmon. If so, I think it will put less pressure on our pitchers and increase our team’s chances of winning.”
Meanwhile, Japanese media covered the training process of the national team on the 5th, revealing high interest in major leaguers Kim Ha-seong and Edmund. A Japanese broadcaster, SNTV, picked Ha-seong Kim as the player he wanted to film first. When the national team players came out to the dugout one by one after taking a profile picture indoors, they took a camera video and asked, “Is Kim Ha-seong coming out now?”