Unveiled WBC final roster… 322 Major League Baseball appearances
The list of players from 20 teams participating in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) to be held next month has been released. The WBC kicks off with the official opening match between Cuba and the Netherlands on the 8th of next month. On the 22nd of the same month, the winning team will be determined.
On the 10th (Korean time), MLB Network introduced the WBC participating teams through live broadcasting and announced the final list of 30 players. As already announced, Korea made a final list of 30 players, 15 pitchers and 15 fielders. SSG outfielder Choi Ji-hoon took the board instead of Choi Ji-man, who was unable to participate in the WBC due to opposition from his team, Pittsburgh.
The final list of Australia, the first opponent in the first round, which had not been disclosed before, was also announced on the same day. Australia made the final list with 34 players (20 pitchers and 14 fielders), including a reserve replacement list. Pitcher Warwick Saupold, who played for the Hanwha Eagles메이저놀이터 in the KBO League for two years, boarded the board, and outfielder Aaron Whitefield, whom manager Lee Kang-cheol picked as the number one target to be wary of, was included in the final list.
MLB Network selected Tommy Hyeon-su Edman, Park Byeong-ho, Kim Kwang-hyeon, Kim Ha-sung and Saupold and Whitefield from Australia as notable players in Korea.
In particular, according to the announcement on the day, out of 600 players participating in the WBC this year, a whopping 332, more than half, belonged to the American professional baseball Major League (MLB). A total of 186 players are included in the MLB team’s 40-man roster. There are 67 players with MLB All-Star career.
In Korea, Kim Ha-seong of San Diego and Edmon of St. Louis belong to major league clubs. The defending champion, USA, will feature a large number of MLB legend players such as Mike Trout (Angels), Mookie Betts (Dodgers), Paul Goldschmidt (St. Louis), and Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers). Five major leaguers from Japan, including Shohei Ohtani (Angels), Yu Darvish (San Diego), and Seiya Suzuki (Chicago Cubs), will participate.
On the 9th of next month, Korea will play the first match in Group B of the first round against Australia at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, and then face Japan, Czech Republic and China in turn.