Youm Kyoung-youb, manager of the professional baseball LG Twins, said he hoped Moon Bo-gyeong, who has been outstanding with the World Baseball Classic (WBC) national team, would continue to show good form until the end. He hoped it would be an opportunity for him to take a step up against big leaguers.
Youm Kyoung-youb mentioned the LG players who are on the national team briefly while speaking with reporters on the 13th ahead of a preseason game against the NC Dinos at Changwon Masan Baseball Stadium.
When I think of the LG pitchers who went to the national team, my head aches, but Moon Bo-gyeong's performance is a consolation. Youm said, "I hope Bo-gyeong does well until the end and comes back having taken a step up. That's all I wish for. At least bring that back."
Moon Bo-gyeong was the MVP in the first round. In four games he hit .538 (13 at-bats, 7 hits) with two home runs, 11 RBIs and an OPS of 1.779. His 11 RBIs rank first among players from the 20 participating countries. In the fateful game against Australia he drove in four runs including a two-run homer and was a key player who led the team to the "miraculous quarterfinal" berth. He drew the attention of U.S. Major League scouts.
That matched the performance of superstar Shohei Ohtani in the first round (3 games, 9 at-bats, 5 hits, .556 batting average, 2 home runs, 6 RBIs, OPS 2.025).
But Youm said he has a headache when he thinks of LG pitchers Son Ju-yeong, Yu Young-chan and Song Seung-gi, who are on the national team. One starting spot was lost to injury. Yu Young-chan and Song Seung-gi have not been able to build up properly.
Son Ju-yeong pitched in the last group-stage game against Australia on the 9th but left after one inning and voluntarily came out with an elbow injury. Due to the injury, Son Ju-yeong could not board the charter flight to Miami and returned to Korea on the 10th. On the 11th LG officially announced, "As a result of hospital examinations, Son Ju-yeong was diagnosed with inflammation and swelling of the left elbow pronator, and was advised to rest from pitching for 10 days."
Youm said, "I expect he will return around mid-April. He will miss about four turns in the starting rotation before returning, and even after returning he will probably need to pitch about three games to be in full condition."
Yu Young-chan and Song Seung-gi have not been able to pitch properly with the national team. Song was the only pitcher who did not appear in the first round's four games.
Yu Young-chan was added late at the end of February as a replacement and joined the national team without having brought his physical condition up properly. He gave up runs in the practice games, the tune-up game and the first-round opener against the Czech Republic. Youm sighed, "The national team needs to help with participation and the clubs have to take responsibility, but the pitchers (Yu Young-chan, Song Seung-gi) should come back and be rebuilt here in a systematic way."
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