Cleveland Indians outfielder Choo Shin-soo, center, waves with his family on his arrival at Incheon International Airport, Tuesday. / Yonhap

By Yoon Chul
Korea Times Intern

Cleveland Indians outfielder Choo Shin-soo returned to Korea Tuesday and discussed his desire to play for the national team in the World Baseball Classic (WBC), which will be held early next year.

``I'm really eager to play in the WBC for Korea,'' he said. ``I hope that my team will give me a chance to play.''

However, the Indians may not allow Choo to compete in the WBC because it won't give him a chance to get a military exemption.

In 2006, the South Korean government gave military exemptions to the players if the team finished in the top four at the WBC. Korea reached the semifinals, enabling the players to earn exemptions from military service.

However, Korea's government will not give exemptions for the 2009 WBC, even if the team wins the championship.

Choo and the Indians were hoping the outfielder would get a chance at an exemption because as it stands now the 26-year-old is required to serve in the military for two years before he turns 30, which would hinder his baseball career.

The WBC will take place from March 5 to 23, just before the Major League Baseball (MLB) season. Playing in the WBC would cause Choo to miss part of the Indians' spring training, which could hurt his conditioning and preparation for the MLB season.

There's also a chance Choo could get injured during the WBC.

Pitcher Park Chan-ho of the Los Angeles Dodgers said playing at the 2006 WBC hurt his performances during the MLB season. Park, who played for the San Diego Padres at the time, threw 10 scoreless innings as a closer for Korea at the WBC and earned three saves. However, he went 7-7 as a starter for the Padres during the 2006 MLB season with a 4.81 ERA.

Choo, who played well for the Indians in the second half of this season, showed enough ability to earn a spot on the national team. He finished the MLB season with a .309 batting average, .397 on-base percentage and .549 slugging percentage in 94 games. He also had 16 homers and 66 RBIs.

snuchul@naver.com