The South Korean baseball players perform stretching exercise before a workout in Honolulu, Hawaii, Thursday. / Yonhap |
By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
With one day to go before the submission of entry for the World Baseball Classic (WBC), South Korean manager Kim In-sik is still laboring to finalize his roster.
The total number of slots in the roster is 28, but only 27 players are currently training in Hawaii.
Yakult Swallows closer Lim Chang-yong and outfielder Choo Shin-soo of the Cleveland Indians are slated to join the team March 1 and Feb. 25, respectively, leaving one to return to team practice.
More than anything else, it is shortstop Park Jin-man who has left the 62-year-old's process in limbo.
The defense-savvy veteran, who plays for the Samsung Lions, has been suffering from a shoulder injury and hinted that he might not be available at the second WBC, scheduled to start on March 5 in Japan, and the national team has summoned a replacement in the form of Son Si-hyun of the Doosan Bears.
But the headman, who led the Korean team to the semifinals in the first-ever WBC in 2006, does not appear ready to take the 32-year-old infielder off the roster.
In the first tournament three years ago, Park showed his strong fielding ability against baseball powerhouses, the United States and Japan.
As a result, the manager, who fixed him up with three trainers and instructor Sohn Hyuk, has asked the WBC organizing committee if they can swap an injured player before the preliminary round.
If possible, Kim plans to insert Park into the lineup from the quarterfinals onward under the assumption that Korea will advance to the second round.
With Park in the squad, either third baseman Lee Bum-ho of the Hanwha Eagles or Choi Jeong of the SK Wyverns will be drop out.
Manager Kim is reportedly mulling whom to leave out because Lee is in pole position in defense, while Choi has better batting skills.
ksw@koreatimes.co.kr
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