Is it because of the aftermath of the selection for the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC)? Many of the players who joined the national team are struggling with sluggishness and injuries.

Suwon kt Wiz Park on the 2nd, where the second match between kt Wiz and the LG Twins team of the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ took place. Both teams sent out Young Gun, who went to the WBC side by side. kt selected right-handed pitcher So-Jun Sohn (22) as the starting pitcher, while LG faced off with left-handed pitcher Yun-Sik Kim (23). 스포츠토토

So-Jun Sohn and Yoon-Sik Kim were selected for the WBC national team for about a month from mid-February to mid-March. In particular, he was put in mid-game as a bullpen pitcher, not a starting position he had digested in the KBO League. After returning from the tournament, the two appeared side by side in two demonstration games and then made their first appearance of the season.

Before the game, LG coach Yeom Gyeong-yeop talked about pitching plans for Kim Yun-sik and the pitchers selected for the WBC. “(Kim) Yoon-sik will throw less than 70,” he said. It won’t. Except for the players who were starting pitchers, it won’t (fill in the number of their pitches),” he explained.

Is it because of the aftermath? So-Jun Sohn and Yoon-Sik Kim were shaken from the beginning of the game. Joon Sohn failed to last through the third inning and collapsed with 10 hits, 2 walks, 1 strikeout and 9 runs in 2⅓ innings. Kim Yun-sik also withdrew with 4 hits (1 home run), 2 walks and 2 runs in 1 inning. Both players were far from the excellent pitching they showed in the league last year.

LG bullpen pitcher Jung Woo-young (24), who took the mound that day, also recorded 1 hit, 4 pitches, and no runs in 1 inning, but he could not show a satisfactory pitch due to unstable control during the demonstration game.

It’s not just the Suwon game. On the same day, the match between Samsung Lions and NC Dinos was held at Daegu Samsung Lions Park. NC starter Koo Chang-mo (26) was sluggish with 7 hits (1 home run), 3 walks, 6 strikeouts and 6 runs in 4⅓ innings.

Some players were unable to start the season with injuries. KIA Tigers outfielder Na Seong-beom (34) has not been able to come out due to calf pain after the WBC. With live batting and defensive training currently underway, his return is predicted to be in mid-April. The same goes for LG closer pitcher Go Woo-seok (24). He took a break due to muscle inflammation. The team plans to join Ko Woo-suk in time for the home opener on the 7th, but said it could be delayed depending on the situation.

Perhaps because of the aftermath of the WBC, some of the players who joined the national team are repeating injuries and sluggishness. It has become an important homework for each team to quickly recover their condition.