Professional baseball player Kim Kwang-hyun (37) of SSG Landers talked about the national team.

During an interview before a practice game against KT Wiz on the 28th at Kushi-kawa Stadium in Okinawa, Japan, Kim Kwang-hyun said, "My condition is not bad. I have now adjusted to the time difference a bit. Until yesterday, I felt a bit sluggish, but starting today, my condition suddenly improved, and the weather is really nice, so I feel refreshed."

Kim Kwang-hyun, who recorded a career total of 387 games (2,177⅔ innings), 170 wins, 98 losses, and a 3.33 earned run average, is one of South Korea's leading left-handed aces. From 2020 to 2021, he played for the Major League Baseball's St. Louis Cardinals, participating in 35 games (145⅔ innings) with a record of 10 wins, 7 losses, 2 saves, and an earned run average of 2.97.

Kim Kwang-hyun returned to Korea on March 2, 2022, after signing a contract worth 15.1 billion won, and continued to show good performance as a key starting pitcher for SSG. However, last season, he recorded 31 games (162⅓ innings), 12 wins, 10 losses, and an earned run average of 4.93, marking the highest earned run average of his professional career.

"I think it's better than last year," said Kim Kwang-hyun, adding, "Right now, I'm in the process of building up my strength, so velocity isn’t important. Balance and not getting hurt is the most important. I will soon play my first game, and rather than focusing on the results, I plan to pitch with emphasis on implementing what I have practiced and increasing my pitch count. I aim to throw a lot of strikes."

Kim Kwang-hyun became a center of attention with Ryu Hyun-jin (Hanwha) regarding the selection for the World Baseball Classic (WBC) national team this offseason. As the Korean baseball team has struggled in international competitions, there are growing calls for aces representing the league to return to the national team and lead the players. Additionally, Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco) also mentioned that regardless of age, the national team should be selected based on performance and skill, increasing fan interest.

Regarding his participation in the national team, Kim Kwang-hyun stated, "First, I need to perform well. I hope to be mentioned as a potential national team player because I played well. It is most important to achieve good results to the point where I feel I am necessary. I think Lee Jung-hoo made a valid point. Because everyone has different views, there are many sayings like 'If the Classic performance is good, they should be selected' or 'If the Sabermetrics performance is good, they should be brought.' This seems to put pressure on the players and the Commissioners who are selecting them, making it sensitive."

"If the players are selected, they go; if not, they don't," said Kim Kwang-hyun. "If I achieve results to the point where I am selected, I will definitely think carefully about it. I believe this is the most crucial point for the Republic of Korea national baseball team. The players genuinely want to do well and are proud to wear the Taeguk mark, but at some point, it has become a situation where players feel pressured and don't want to take part. I hope it changes to a culture of supporting national team players now."

Ryu Hyun-jin noted, "If I achieve good results this year worthy of being selected for the national team and I feel that I performed well enough, then I would naturally think of participating. And other veteran players need to be convinced individually as well. We need to do better than last year. I believe all record aspects need to improve compared to last year to qualify for the national team."

Kim Kwang-hyun expressed, "I hope to be a veteran who performs well. I would like to perform well by the end of the season. It would be a pleasant concern, wouldn't it? I will do my best to ensure that Hyun-jin calls me." He smiled.

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