Korean baseball star Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco Giants) made a confidence statement on the management of the national team. He is right. 카지노

Lee Jung-hoo said in an interview with domestic reporters who visited the Giants Spring Camp Stadium in Scottsdale, Arizona on the 16th, "It is not about gaining experience, but about proving it," and stressed that skills-oriented selection should be made rather than just generational change. His remarks are sending a strong message that the direction of the national team's operation should be re-examined at a time when the international competitiveness of Korean baseball is falling.

Recently, the Korean national baseball team has been operating in the direction of selecting a large number of young players under the slogan of generational change. After the slump in the WBC in 2023, veteran players, who were the main players of the national team, announced their retirement, naturally progressing generational change, and in the Premier 12 last year, the average age of the national team was significantly lowered to about 24 years old.

However, the result was disastrous. The younger Korean team showed lack of experience in international competitions, and lost every important moment, resulting in a disappointing result of elimination from the group stage. "Young players can stand out when they get excited, but there is no veteran who can lead them when the mood subsides," Lee said, stressing the importance of harmony between the old and the new.

In the past, Korean baseball was able to show strong performance in international competitions because talented veterans took the center stage, and young players were able to develop their skills within that framework. Korea was able to make a splash at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2009 WBC thanks to the harmony of experienced veterans and energetic young players.

The basic principle of the national team is that the best players representing the country must gather. However, considering the recent management style of the national team, veterans with sufficient skills tend to be excluded just because of the replacement of generations.

A case in point is Ryu Hyun-jin of Hanwha Eagles. After returning to the KBO League last year, he proved to be still a top-rated pitcher with 10-8 losses and an ERA of 3.87. However, he was excluded from the Premier 12 national team roster last year. Although he was still competitive in playing for the national team for a long time, some suggested that he was excluded due to "generation change." 

In addition, Samsung's Kang Min-ho and Doosan's Yang Eui-ji also announced their retirements from the national team, but they are still considered the top catchers in the KBO League. In particular, Kang showed off his robustness by hitting .300 with 19 home runs in the 2024 season. If you evaluate them by their skills alone, they are still players who can play important roles in the national team.

Lee Jung-hoo said, "The national team is not a place to gain experience, but a place to prove it by skill," and insisted that the players who performed the best in the season should be selected for the national team, not just based on age.

The 2026 WBC is an important test that will determine the fate of the Korean baseball league. Recently, the Korean baseball has been sluggish continuously in international competitions, and is said to be losing competitiveness in the global baseball arena. The team was eliminated in the first round after suffering a shocking loss to Australia in the 2023 WBC, and was eliminated in the group stage last year after losing to Taiwan in the Premier 12.

The KBO League is still gaining huge popularity in Korea, but its international competitiveness is weakening. In the WBC, where even the Major Leaguers can join, it is essential to have the best performance. So, what should the national team go in?

As Lee Jung-hoo said, "The best players join the national team" could be the answer. Regardless of whether they are old or young, it is necessary to form a player with harmonious skills and experience. Veteran pitchers such as Ryu Hyun-jin protect the mound and young pitchers grow based on their experiences, which is a strategy that can maximize the power of the national team in the long run.

Generational change takes place naturally and should not be forced artificially. The goal of the national team is not to foster players for the future, but to show the best of their abilities in international competitions right now.

In the past, players like Ryu Hyun-jin, Kim Kwang-hyun, and Lee Jung-hoo became the main players of the national team in their early 20s not simply because they were young, but because they won the competition with their skills. When veterans with both skills and experience harmonize with young players, the national team can build the strongest power.

Discussions on the formation of the national team will begin in earnest ahead of the 2026 WBC. In order for Korean baseball to become competitive on the international stage once again, it is necessary to select players based on thorough skills, not just generational change. Lee Jung-hoo's remarks are not just personal opinions. This is an important direction that Korean baseball must consider in order to survive and should be a fundamental principle of national team management.