Kim Young-woong (21), the left-handed slugger of the Samsung Lions, was eliminated from the national team in the end. As a lie, all the players of the Samsung national team were eliminated from the national team due to injuries.

The Korean national baseball team lost 1-2 to Sangmu at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Sunday. Win or lose did not mean much. Some of the national baseball players played as members of the Sangmu team and gained sense of play in actual games.

Before the friendly match with Sangmu, Kim Young-woong was the one who drew attention. However, Kim was not seen during the training session. "I came to the stadium," said Ryu Joong-il, the coach of the national team, but he was not physically fit enough to warm up and play catch.

Kim was the only fielder who missed both warm-up matches with Cuba. During the friendly match with Cuba, Ryu said, "I heard that it is Kim Young-woong's first time experiencing this injury. It is hard to swing because it is near his shoulder. I am puzzled to hear that he did not get hurt while playing, but that he did so on the bus on his way to join the national team."메이저놀이터

The Korean national baseball team trained at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 5th ahead of the "2024 WBSC Premier 12" competition. Kim Young-woong is training for defense./Photo by Kim Jin-kyung
In the beginning, Ryu was thinking of Thursday as the last day of the friendly match with Sangmu. "If we say no to Sangmu, it would be difficult (to join the final entry for the national team)," Ryu said. In the end, this has become a reality. Kim was not able to play in the friendly match with Sangmu. After the match, Ryu said, "I don't think (Kim) Young-woong will be able to join the team anyway due to his injury," adding that he was eliminated in the final.

Kim had a batting average of 0.252 (115 hits in 456 times at bat) this season, but he hit a whopping 28 home runs. In 126 games, he played 16 doubles, three triples, 79 RBIs and 65 runs, nine steals (two failed), 45 walks and 155 strikeouts, 0.321 on-base plus slugging percentage, 0.806 on-base plus OPS, and 0.310 on-base plus slugging percentage. Ryu gave high marks to his ability to hit long balls, referring to his performance as a pinch hitter who can make a hit. However, he has been eliminated from the national team in the end.

Coincidentally, Samsung players were eliminated one after another. As Kim Young-woong was also eliminated due to injury, there are no Samsung players in the upcoming national team. Initially, a total of four players were selected for the national team by Samsung. They were starting pitcher Won Tae-in and outfielder Koo Ja-wook, and infielders Kim Ji-chan and Kim Young-woong. The first to get hurt was Koo. After suffering a knee injury during the playoffs, he failed to play in the Korean Series and was eliminated from the national team.

Ace Won Tae-in, a key resource on the mound, also suffered from an injury. Won Tae-in left the mound complaining of shoulder pain during the Korean Series. As a result of a thorough examination at the hospital, he was diagnosed with shoulder joint and spondyl injury. He had no choice but to leave the national team because he needed rehabilitation for four to six weeks. Kim Ji-chan then left the national team due to a left ankle injury. Kim Ji-chan also injured his ankle during the Korean Series and was diagnosed with treatment for three to four weeks. Due to the departure of Koo Ja-wook and Kim Ji-chan, the number of professional outfielders in the national team has been reduced to four (Hong Chang-ki, Choi Won-joon, Yoon Dong-hee, and Lee Ju-hyung). On top of that, as a lie, even Kim Young-woong was eliminated due to an injury, and the annihilation of the Korean National University Lions became a reality.