Choi Ji-man nearly back at full strength for WBC

After Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Choi Ji-man was cut from the South Korean national team for the upcoming World Baseball Classic (WBC) for medical reasons on Monday, the country was left with just two players who could man the bag with any semblance of capability.

Fortunately for South Korea, a question mark that had been hanging over one of those two players has been erased.

According to national team manager Lee Kang-chul, KT Wiz slugger Park Byung-ho is nearly back at full strength after suffering torn ligaments in his right ankle in September, and should be ready to assume full defensive responsibilities at first base for the WBC. South Korea’s first Pool B game is March 9 against Australia at Tokyo Dome.

Lee also manages Park for the Wiz, who, after winning the 2021 Korean Series, were knocked out in the first round of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason in 2022 as Park was limited to designated-hitting duties.

Lee has often stressed the importance of defense in a short tournament like the WBC. At his best, Park is a solid defender at first with soft hands.

The Wiz opened spring training camp in Tucson, Arizona, earlier this month, and a team official said Park has been a full participant in all fielding drills.

“He’s been taking part in fungo drills and pitcher fielding practice sessions,” the official said. “In addition to defense, he has been doing all the batting and baserunning drills, too. We don’t think his ankle has been a problem at all.”

The other option at first base is another Wiz player, Kang Baek-ho, who had been his club’s primary first baseman in 2020 and 2021 before ceding the position to Park after the veteran arrived as a free agent. Kang only played 16 games at first in 2022 and he has always been a poor defensive player.

Left fielder Kim Hyun-soo has some experience playing first base, but he didn’t play that position in 2022 after logging only 15 2/3 innings in 2021 and 34 innings the year before that.

Of course, Park didn’t make the national team just for his glove. Park belted out 35 home runs to lead the KBO last year, winning his sixth home run title at age 36. He and third baseman Choi Jeong, who had 26 homers in 2022, are South Korea’s two major sources of power from the right side.

Park’s improving health should have a positive effect on the rest of the team. It allowed the national team staff to select SSG Landers outfielder Choi Ji-hoon to take Choi Ji-man’s place on the 30-man roster, instead of going with another first baseman whose utility would have been limited.

Choi Ji-hoon is an elite defender who can play all three outfield positions and who also stole 31 bases last season to rank third in the KBO.

Cho Bum-hyun, technical director for the national team, said he had originally picked three first basemen because of uncertainty surrounding Park. With more clarity on that front, Cho chose to add a useful bench piece.

“Choi Ji-hoon can be excellent as a pinch runner or a defensive replacement,” Cho said. “In a short international tournament like this, we felt we needed a player who could execute different plays more than we needed another first baseman.”