Nat'l baseball manager prioritizes defense behind inexperienced pitchers at Olympics

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, June 16 (Yonhap) -- As South Korea tries to defend its Olympic baseball gold medal in Tokyo this summer, manager Kim Kyung-moon put defense as his top priority for his position players.

Kim, who announced his 24-man roster Wednesday, also went with versatile players who can handle multiple positions for valuable roster flexibility in a short tournament, such as the Olympics.

As much as the players who made the team, Kim fielded multiple questions about those left on the outside looking in, perhaps no one more notable than Choo Shin-soo.

Choo, a former major league All-Star playing in his first Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season, would have been a fine option at the top of the lineup, thanks to his combination of pop and on-base skills. But on the other hand, he would also have been a liability in the outfield, where his defense has been declining for a few years.

Kim also cited Choo's elbow problems as a reason for the decision to leave him off the team.

Among infielders, Kim selected LG Twins shortstop Oh Ji-hwan for his glove, despite his struggles at the plate and his controversial history with the national team.

Oh was the lightning rod for criticism at the 2018 Asian Games, with critics arguing he was only picked so that he could get his military service exemption with a gold medal and wasn't good enough to have played there.

Kim had been under pressure to stay away from Oh this time, but his fielding, consistently rated as among the best in the KBO at any position, was too enticing.

"Right now, I think he's the best defensive player we have," Kim said. "Especially with our inexperienced pitching staff, we felt we needed stout infield defense. His batting average may be low (.240 through Tuesday), but he is a great defender."

And that pitching staff is indeed green. Six of the 10 have never played for the country at the senior level and one, Lee Eui-lee of the Kia Tigers, is a rookie in the KBO at age 20.

And defense may also have cost two sluggers a shot at the Olympics.

At third base, Heo Kyoung-min of the Doosan Bears, regarded as the KBO's best glove at the hot corner, and Hwang Jae-gyun of the KT Wiz, a converted shortstop who can also handle first base, will don the national flag.

Choi Jeong of the SSG Landers, a proven slugger and a longtime national team mainstay, was the odd man out.

"Choi Jeong isn't a bad fielder, but we wanted stronger defense among infielders," Kim said.

In the outfield, Na Sung-bum of the NC Dinos was not picked, though he once again finds himself among KBO leaders in home runs and RBIs.

The former pitcher has a strong arm from the outfield but has been splitting time as a DH since a serious knee injury suffered during the 2019 season.

Kim said he had enough DH options already aside from Na or Choo, and he didn't want a full-time DH at the Olympics anyway.

Kang Baek-ho, the KBO leader with a .403 batting average and a .482 on-base percentage, was picked as one of two first basemen. Kim said Kang will start the tournament as DH and may also see action in the outfield, where he began his KBO career with the KT Wiz in 2018.

"With Baek-ho also available (in the outfield), I felt we had enough outfield options," Kim said of his decision to leave off Na. "(Shortstop) Kim Hye-seong can also play in the outfield."

Kim Hye-seong is an excellent defender who has flashed leather at third base and second base, and got some reps in the outfield for the Kiwoom Heroes last year. Add Park Hae-min, seen as the best center fielder in the KBO today, and South Korea shouldn't have much trouble making plays.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
(END)