'Baseball queen' will establish the 50th women's baseball team through the show.
On the afternoon of the 25th at The Saint Shindorim Grand Ballroom Hall in Guro-gu, Seoul, Channel A's new variety show 'Baseball queen' held a production press conference. 'Baseball queen,' which premieres today (25th), is a sports variety program in which 'legendary female athletes' from different sports challenge the unfamiliar stage of 'baseball'.
It is a sports variety show that reunited PD Shin Jae-ho of 'The Iron Squad W' and writer Kang Sook-kyung, who handled 'The Iron Squad W' and 'Physical 100' seasons 1 and 2, and under Director General Park Se-ri's leadership, manager Choo Shin-soo and coaches Lee Dae-hyung and Yoon Seok-min form a solid 'manager-coach lineup,' generating explosive expectations from the start.
The players for the women's baseball team newly established as the country's 50th include track and field's Kim Min-ji, rhythmic gymnast Shin Su-ji, handball players Kim On-ah and Park Ha-yan, judo's Kim Seong-yeon, swimmer Jeong Yu-in, speed skater Kim Bo-reum, softball player Ayaka, boxer Choi Hyun-mi, shooter Park Bo-ram, rower Lee Soo-yeon, soccer player Joo Su-jin, ice hockey player Shin So-jung, badminton player Jang Su-young, and tennis player Song Ah-ga, who made the final lineup.
They have united under the team name 'Black Queens' and are sweating toward their ultimate goal of winning the national championship with the aim of sparking a boom in 'women's baseball.'
On the day, Director General Park Se-ri raised expectations for the first broadcast, saying, "It's not my sport, but I was appointed director general. The role of director general is still a bit difficult for me, but we safely started and finished. I think you'll be surprised when you see it."
Choo Shin-soo, who accepted the manager position one year after retirement, also said, "I was going to rest after retiring, but I was offered another challenge, and I was really excited. I've never been a manager before, and there was uncertainty about teaching baseball to players who were new to the sport, but when I actually did it, I was surprised at how well they followed along."
Manager Choo said, "I was moved by their improvement, and I think accepting the manager position was really the right decision. Although it may have started as entertainment, I finished it with a sense of responsibility and a desire to promote women's baseball. I want to say thank you to Channel A for giving me such a great opportunity."
The production team also marveled at their challenge and passion, saying, "At first it seemed like an almost impossible challenge, but with all the players, the director general and the manager pouring in all their effort, we turned the impossible into possible."
So what prompted the planning of 'Baseball queen'? PD Shin Jae-ho said, "Actually, writer Sook-kyung and I worked together on the previous 'The Iron Squad' series. 'The Iron Squad W' seems to have had a big influence. After focusing on male soldiers as protagonists, making female soldiers the protagonists for the first time made us marvel on set. We realized the power of women's narratives and wondered where genuine sincerity would arise when strong women take on challenges. I wanted to explore what the currently popular 'baseball,' and the barren field of 'women's baseball,' would be like. I directed because I wanted to see the synergy of female athletes challenging a new sport with these people."
Writer Kang Sook-kyung said, "While I was on 'Physical,' I had great respect for female athletes. I was surprised to learn that there are 49 amateur baseball teams. Watching the footage of their passionate cheering, I think I watched it more than 20 times. I thought it would be great if we took on such a challenge too. Who would be good for it? I thought it would be good for athletes who reached the pinnacle of their sports to challenge completely different sports."
How did the harmony between Director General Park Se-ri and manager Choo Shin-soo come about? The production team said, "The starting point for gathering female athletes to take on a challenge was the belief that baseball is a very difficult sport. In soccer or basketball, even if the skill is lacking, the game ends when time runs out. In baseball, if you can't get the out count, the game can go on all day, so it's a sport that requires skill. We thought the physically and mentally suitable people would be these athletes. Then we naturally thought of Director General Park Se-ri."
The production team explained their reason for recruiting manager Choo, saying, "He is currently a development head coach at the Landers, and he had concerns not only about scheduling burdens but also about taking the manager position. Of course, as an entertainment PD, there's a rarity in seeing someone take sports seriously, but he went through a rough process in his major league challenge. Because many people know that story well, and since it's hard for athletes to challenge other sports, considering those mental aspects, we thought he would be the optimal manager."
Choo explained why he accepted the manager position: "What I do is like what the club does, so matching schedules wasn't easy. While filming, bigger dreams and goals emerged, but when I retired and my goals were fading, teaching baseball to female athletes was a novel challenge. One certainty was that because these athletes had reached the peak of their sports, I knew and believed there was something different about them. I believed there was passion and investment to reach that level, so I accepted the manager position."
Coach Lee Dae-hyung, who joined as a coach, said, "While playing and coaching together, I also learned things as a coach. Players who were at the top in other sports were quick learners. Now I have confidence that we can be competitive against any team."
What is the concrete ultimate goal of 'Baseball queen'? Director General Park Se-ri said, "When we held the founding ceremony, we set a big goal. The team Black Queens was founded with the goal of winning the national championship. We are looking forward to the national championship. It's a result worth being ambitious about. We are expecting results."
Manager Choo also said, "All sports are difficult, but baseball requires a lot. There are many mental aspects to master. Since these athletes have experience in sports, they picked things up quickly. Winning the national championship is natural, and if the program continues, it's an expected outcome. The ultimate goal is to produce a national baseball team player from Baseball queen's Black Queens. I think it's entirely possible."
What did players who had actually played baseball feel? Captain Kim On-ah said, "I had frequent knee injuries, so I was unsure whether I should do this. The amount of training was really a lot; I joked that I should have played one more season of handball. After retirement I felt empty, but I decided because I wanted to reunite once more with players. Training gracefully indoors and then practicing in hot places in summer and cold places in winter was a bit tough," she said.
Kim Seong-yeon also recalled, "I was awkward with ball sports and team sports. Even in team events, I competed alone and scored points by myself. When I first encountered baseball, it was hardest to adapt to the idea that my mistakes and errors could harm the team. The moment I grew most was when, while blaming myself and struggling alone, someone told me 'it's okay' and trusted me; it was hard but also the most rewarding and meaningful."
Kim Min-ji, who said she is a baseball fan, expressed gratitude to her teammates, saying, "I love the Hanwha Eagles so much that I wanted to try playing baseball. I liked them so much that I used to criticize players, so I thought I should try it myself. When I actually tried it, I didn't curse; I thought it was admirable and cool. Since I'm still active, it's hard to do both track and field and baseball, so I couldn't attend many practices, but the teammates improved while I stayed where I was, which motivated me to catch up."
In reality, female baseball players such as Kim Hyun-ah, Kim Ra-kyung, Park Ju-a and Park Min-seo were drafted and advanced to the U.S. professional baseball league opening next year. As the base for women's baseball is expected to expand, Choo Shin-soo revealed, "I personally keep in touch with player Kim Ra-kyung. When she talks to me, she says, 'there's nowhere to play baseball.' We only see the successful stories in the press, but thinking about how hard players worked to get there is painful as a fellow baseball person."
Choo said, "While working on this program, I felt both gratitude and regret, so now that I know, I want to pay more attention to women's baseball and promote it more. Cheering is important, but I also want people to see women playing baseball on the field. I hope it becomes a time when the public can watch women's baseball more often."
Could there be live-attendance games, like the currently airing baseball variety shows 'A Clean Sweep' and 'Fireball Baseball'? Yoon Seok-min said, "I enjoyed doing the baseball program and it felt good. We discussed doing live-attendance games too, but that's not something I can decide. Still, I think it will do well. I'm confident and I think it will do just fine."
Meanwhile, although it's their first time with baseball, the 'sports queens' from various fields who are familiar with competition will formally challenge 'baseball,' and Channel A's 'Baseball queen,' which will write a new chapter in women's sports history, premieres Tuesday the 25th at 10 p.m.
[Photo] Channel A 'Baseball queen'
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