Choo Shin-soo (41, SSG Landers) expressed his convictions regarding the selection of the national team for the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC). In the meantime, fans generally cheered for his direct words for Korean baseball. But this time the reaction is different. In particular, there was a lot of disagreement in the part related to Ahn Woo-jin (24, Kiwoom Heroes), who was controversial about school violence.
On the 21st (Korean time), Choo Shin-soo appeared on ‘DKNET’, a Korean radio station in Dallas, Texas, USA, and said, “If you look at Japan, the closest country to us, there are many new faces in international competitions.” “I am a really good player with the ability to represent Korea and my grades, but I think I would have looked at the future. If I had looked at the future rather than the current results, I think many (veteran) players should not have gone, and many new players should have been selected.” He made a statement of conviction.
Familiar veterans such as Kim Hyun-soo, Kim Gwang-hyeon (35, SSG Landers), and Yang Hyeon-jong (35, KIA Tigers) were named to the WBC national team. Regarding this, Choo Shin-soo said, “How long will Kim Gwang-hyun and Yang Hyeon-jong go?” “It’s not that these players lack skills, but there are a lot of young and talented players playing in Korea. It makes a huge difference,” he said.
While talking about the generational change, the name of An Woo-jin could not help coming up. Last year, Ahn Woo-jin rose to the league ace with an overwhelming record of 15 wins, 8 losses, an ERA of 2.11, and 224 strikeouts in 196 innings in 30 games. He won the Golden Glove in the pitching category and was the first choice in the WBC selection if only his skills were considered. However, due to school violence during Whimoon High School, he was disciplined by the Korea Sports Association and the Korea Baseball Softball Association by disqualification from the national team. The WBC, not supervised by the Korea Sports Council, was his only opportunity to mark the Taegeuk mark, but he failed to board the final entry on the 4th.
At the time of the final entry announcement, Cho Beom-hyeon, head of the WBC Technical Committee of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), expressed the atmosphere around Ahn Woo-jin by saying, “When selecting players, we considered various things such as the symbolic meaning of the national team, pride, and responsibility.” .
Choo Shin-soo responded that it was difficult to accept this atmosphere. He said, “(Ahn Woo-jin) obviously did something wrong and it’s very unfortunate to see it as a third person. ” he regretted.
He added, “Rather than protecting (Ahn Woo-jin), it seems that it is not easy to forgive in Korea. If a person made a (mistake) when he was young, he would repent of his mistake, be punished, and be suspended from a business trip, but he would not be able to participate in international competitions.”먹튀검증
However, fans’ reaction to this part is generally cold. After the Korean series last year, some juniors known as victims of school violence actively came forward for An Woo-jin, but it is known that one victim did not agree. It is the opinion of fans that it is difficult to readily agree with Choo Shin-soo’s remarks in a situation where there are clearly those who have not forgotten the damage at the time. In fact, criticism from fans followed on the official YouTube channel of DKNET, where the remarks were revealed.
Choo Shin-soo did not stop here and hoped that his seniors would actively take part in this work. He said, “There is something I want to say to baseball seniors. I am not a senior because I was born early and played baseball early. If you are on the road and exercising in the wrong place, you should raise your voice to change and try to help, but I only watch.”