SSG Landers outfielder Choi Ji-hoon (26), who was selected as a substitute, revealed the advice he received from veteran outfielder Kim Kang-min (41).
On the 11th (Korean time), Choi Ji-hoon met with reporters in Vero Beach, Florida, USA, where the 2023 SSG Spring Camp is located, and conveyed his feelings and determination to go to the WBC. 메이저놀이터
He said, “I will go out with a sense of responsibility as a national team player. He will show a play worthy of the Taegeuk mark,” he said with determination.
On the 6th, KBO said, “WBCI (World baSeball Classic Inc) informed the KBO that Choi Ji-man (Pittsburgh Pirates) could not compete in the WBC.”
Choi Ji-man, who underwent surgery last year, could not go to the WBC due to opposition from the Pittsburgh club. Instead, Jihoon Choi went out.
Choi Ji-hoon’s joining the WBC national team coach Kim Won-hyung said, ‘Congratulations. Great. Have a good experience and do well,’ he cheered.
Most of all, my parents were very happy. Choi Ji-hoon said with a smile, “You seemed calm when talking to me on the phone. But later on, I heard that my parents were crying.”
The ‘original beast’ Kim Kang-min gave advice to his junior Choi Ji-hoon, who succeeded him. Choi Ji-hoon said, “Senior Kang-min playfully said, ‘The people who seek the country are fixed anyway. So he said, ‘Don’t try to do something, just do what you feel comfortable with,’” he revealed. It was to make sure that juniors could lessen the tension and pressure in international competitions.
Choi Ji-hoon, who participated in the Florida Camp in the United States as a SSG rookie in 2020, has already established himself as the team’s main outfielder and has gone to the international stage. Among them, Florida is special to him.
“Florida is a great place,” he said. It was also a place where my baseball life began anew, so I came with a thrill.” It was in Florida that his pro career began and he was selected as a national substitute.
Last year, Choi Ji-hoon, who participated in all 144 games, batted 3.4, 10 homers, 61 RBIs, and 31 stolen bases, and became the main character of the ‘consolidated championship’. His special professional 4th season has begun.