Olympic champions South Korea insist a potential row over Cleveland Indians outfielder Choo Shin-soo will not derail their World Baseball Classic bid.
Choo is recovering from elbow surgery and Cleveland do not want him to play more than one game as an outfielder in the Asian preliminaries which begin in Tokyo today.
The 26-year-old faced around 30 balls in batting practice on Wednesday before South Korea coach Kim In-sik was grilled for not standing up to the Indians.
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
“He’s obviously a special case,” Kim told reporters two days before his side face Taiwan in their Asian preliminary opener. “I would like to have full control and make the final decision.”
“But regarding his participation — and to what degree he participates — in the WBC, we also have to consider the wishes of the club who pay his wages,” he said.
As Korean journalists continued to grumble that Kim should assert his authority, the head coach said: “Choo will still need to pass a fitness test to see if he can play anyway.”
PHOTO: AP
Choo could be limited to designated hitting duties against Taiwan at the Tokyo Dome.
“Choo could still play a role even if he’s not fit enough to play defense,” Kim said. “Anyway we’ve prepared well so the team is in excellent shape.”
South Korea compiled a 6-1 record in the inaugural WBC tournament in 2006, beating Japan twice before losing to their fierce rivals in their third meeting in the semi-finals.
Japan won the competition with a 5-2 record, triggering protests from South Korea and beyond about the rules, which have since been amended.
“Rules are rules,” Kim shrugged. “We’ll play by whatever rules are there. The strike zone is a little different and the ball is slightly different but we just have to deal with it.”
South Korea took bronze in 2006 before gaining revenge by beating Japan in the semi-finals at last year’s Beijing Olympics on the way to winning the gold medal.
“We were third in 2006 and we had a dream result at the Olympics,” Kim said.
“Our goal is to go all the way but first we have to take care of business and get to the second round,” he said.
■TIGERS SNAP UP CHENG
AFP, TOKYO
Taiwanese pitcher Cheng Kai-wen has signed a contract to play for the Hanshin Tigers of Japan’s Central League, team officials said yesterday.
The 20-year-old student at Chinese Culture University is a member of Taiwan’s 28-player squad for the World Baseball Classic. He was one of three amateurs on Taiwan’s team at last year’s Olympic Games.
“I’m really happy to play for one of the strong teams in Japan,” said Cheng, who passed an ability test last month.
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