Chapter 599 – Episode 586. 2026 WBC. (1)
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Glorious ‘2025 Golden Gloves’, Ji Maeng-ho wins unanimously!
… In the catcher category, Lee Yong-gi won the award with 93.5% of the votes, and in the first baseman category, Choi Si-woo won his first Golden Glove award with 53.7% of the votes. In the second baseman category, season MVP Ji Maeng-ho was unanimously…, In the third baseman category, Kim Su-ho received 61.2% of the votes, and in the shortstop category, Yoon Seong-tae, who achieved 20-20 at Jamsil Stadium, won for the first time in his career with 52.9% of the votes…
Williams in the outfield category. Ki Ki-joo and Lee Eun-chong…, As expected, the designated hitter is Kang Han-beom… … In the pitcher category, where the votes were the most divided, Cronks, who had 20 wins and an ERA of around 1 point, received the lowest vote rate of 46.7%…
Meanwhile, at this Golden Glove Awards Ceremony, the winning team, AT Thunders, produced 6 players, the runner-up team, Hwasan Falcons, produced 2 players, and the Charlotte Blue Mariners and Shilla Triggers produced 1 player each…
┗AT is the winning team, 6 people ㄷㄷㄷ
┗Honestly, if you exclude Jamsil and AT, isn’t Crongs behind Seonghyun? Why Chronx
┗┗They originally gave preferential treatment to domestic players, but it looks like the votes were split because of Jang Woo-joo and Kim Won-ho haha
┗Still, there is a new generation coming up in the infield. Choi Si-woo and Yoon Seong-tae did well this season, so they will likely advance to the national team this time.
┗┗It seems like there is no talent at third base. How long will it be Kim Su-ho?
┗The fierce god of defense is unanimousㄷㄷ
┗┗If there is no unanimous agreement, we will have to find that bastard and hang him haha
-2026 WBC announces 40-member national team preliminary list!
… Meanwhile, national team coach Geum-Hyun Lee, who led the second golden age of Korean baseball with WBC runner-up, Asian Games championship, and Olympic victory, announced his retirement after the 2024 Olympics, and in 2025, the KBA Technical Committee appointed national team coach Hyung-Jin Joo as the new head coach. A technical committee member was appointed.
… Coach Joo Hyung-jin said, “We selected players based on the data we have accumulated over the years and on-site judgment,” And said that the WBC roster was selected after thorough preparation. Meanwhile, among the 40 players selected this time, the final 30 will be selected based on physical condition and current condition…
┗This time, let’s win!!!!
┗Is Jang Woo-joo in good condition? They said what about surgery after Waka?
┗┗I heard that I am receiving injection treatment, but I will have to wait and see.
┗Sseu-eup, can’t Lee Geum-hyeon just do it? The director is GOAT
┗┗He’s a bit of a hitter lol Joo Hyung-jin is so fucking untrustworthy ㅅㅂ
┗┗Didn’t Joo Seung-cheol come in through his back? LOL
┗┗What does the director have to do with it? Meng Ho-shin will just carry it.
┗But this national team roster is also the best of all time. Sung Hyun-Jeong-Woo, Growth Universe Kim Won-Ho, and Joo Seung-Cheol-Ji Maeng-Ho are the batsmen. It’s a mess
-Korea baseball team, 30 players confirmed. The preliminaries will be held in Gocheok!
… The Korean baseball team, which has confirmed its 30-man roster, will hold the Group B preliminary round in Gocheok on the 4th. This year’s WBC, in which 24 countries participate, will be divided into 6 groups and hold a preliminary round, and 16 teams, including the 1st and 2nd place countries and the 3rd place country with good performance, will advance to the next round. Meanwhile, South Korea is in Group B with Taiwan, England, and Laos…
The following is a list of national representatives selected for the 2026 WBC.
Pitcher
Right-handers: Ko Young-hwan (Minnesota Twins), Jang Woo-joo (Future Buffaloes), Kim Won-ho (Silla Triggers), Shin Su-ho (Hwasan Falcons), Na Seung-yoon (Hancheol Grizzlies)
Sides: Jung Woo-sung (Pittsburgh Pirates), Kim Seong-gyeol, Yoon Jung-hwan (UG Overlords)
Left-handers: Seong Hyun, Chae Jae-hyun (Hwasan Falcons), Choi Jung-hoon, Kwon Yul (Hyun-seong Mad Cats), Lee Seok-gyun, Kim Woo-jun (UG Overlords), Kim Si-hyun (NV Rex)
Typing
Catcher: Lee Yong-gi (Hwasan Falcons), Jeong Tae-seong (NV Rex)
Infielders: Joo-Tae Choi (LA Angels), Beom Kang (Charlotte Blue Mariners), Jin-Mo Koo (UG Overlords), Si-Woo Choi (Hwasan Falcons), Cheol-Young Park (Silla Triggers), Maeng-Ho Ji, Seong-Tae Yoon, Su-Ho Kim (AT Thunders))
Outfielders: Seung-cheol Joo (LA Dodgers), Eun-chong Lee (Silla Triggers), Gi Ki-ju (AT Thunders), Jeong-hyeon Kim (Han-cheol Grizzlies), Ji-hyuk Yang (Hyunseong Mad Cats).
┗The members are at an all-time high haha. Go Young-hwan should finish the selection of Jung Woo-sung, Seong Hyun, Kim Won-ho, and Jang Woo-ju.
┗Almost all Olympic members were included, including Choi Si-woo
┗But they say other teams are also bringing in all-star members.
┗┗Is it likely that the U.S. Will win this time too?
┗┗When I think about the Olympics, I don’t know.
*
“… A Korean player worth watching out for is NL Rookie of the Year Joo Seung-cheol, who along with Ohtani won the LA Dodgers’ eighth WS championship. Joo Seung-cheol made his debut with the LA Dodgers last season and showed his talent by recording a batting average of .208, 5.5, 28 home runs, and 33 stolen bases. The other batter is from the LA Angels… Hey, are you listening?”
“Ai, I heard you are listening. “How many times will I tell that story?”
Today, ahead of the first WBC match against Laos, Seungcheol was reading articles from the United States over and over again, using poor English. The article published by an American newspaper today was introducing the history of the Korean baseball team, and the article focused on major-leaguers Choi Joo-tae and Joo Seung-cheol, as well as Jung Woo-sung and former major-leaguer Seong Hyun.
However, my part in that third-rate article was only one line. All he said was that he hit .400 in the KBA league.
“What kind of baseball news story doesn’t know my name? Isn’t that just trash there? “Why do you publish an article there when it’s a waste of traffic?”
“Uh huh, I bought a newspaper, so what are you talking about? And I know your name. It has your name too. In one line. There is also a line in the universe. A promising pitcher who throws 100 mph. Oh, Ji Maeng-ho and Jang Woo-joo. The future of Korean baseball pitching is all written here.”
… What was even more infuriating was that my episode had the same one line as Jang Woo-joo. If it wasn’t there, I would have thought, ‘These bastards don’t know a damn thing.’ I was more upset that they had done some research.
‘No, other articles put my name at the top, but why is this article… And how did Seungcheol find this?’
Honestly, the article Seungcheol showed me was trash. Even though I am not a major-leaguer, I can only introduce myself in one line at best after showing MVP-level performance at the last WBC and the 2024 Olympics. Even though it was a baseball version where Major League universalism was the mainstream, this was a bit harsh.
“You did well. That’s how it can be introduced.”
“Wow, this is the dignity of a major-leaguer, isn’t it? “I can see something like a halo, right?”
A smug Seungcheol wanted to squeeze his brother’s honey chestnuts, but instead he answered by raising his middle finger, and then, trying to swear, he ran away from his brother.
‘Anyway, I heard that my temper got worse when I went to America. Is it because I don’t get to see Leah often? Ugh, I shouldn’t be like that.’
However, there was nothing wrong with what Seungcheol said. The dignity of a major-leaguer really existed. I don’t know because I don’t use the Internet very well, but Jia said that these days, it is often said in the community that the lineage of Korean batsmen is Joo Hyung-jin, Kang Han-beom, Choi Joo-tae, and Joo Seung-cheol.
The four players mentioned are all players who have achieved significant results in the major leagues, and Joo Seung-cheol also earned the right to be included in that lineage by winning the National League Rookie of the Year award last year. When I was in Korea, no one looked at Seungcheol older than me, but I thought it was good to be called a major-leaguer.
Honestly, when I asked Jia because I was curious about my evaluation, I heard that the opinion was divided into 9, who said that he is the best Korean hitter of all time, and 1, who said that he has not yet been proven in the majors, so we should keep an eye on him.
And I didn’t like the opinion of ‘1’ either.
‘… Fuck. .400 hit over 70 home runs, but there are still people like that left. I also have to go to the majors quickly.’
As Mr. Rossby always says, in Korea, no matter how well you tried, this was how you were treated in the end.
And if I were to go, my wish was to be treated well. The direction of the contract discussed with the agency was to sign a short contract at first and then sign a long-term contract when going to a major company, rather than signing a long-term contract from the beginning.
The contract method that is popular in the major leagues these days is to tie players to long-term contracts of more than 10 years because it has the influence of the salary cap and allows young players to be tied up at a low price before their potential shows up. Some MVP-level players were tied to worse contract terms than Seungcheol’s older brother.
Of course, because I had something to show in Korea, the chances of being signed in to a slave contract were small. The lawyer probably expected that he would be able to receive 400 to 500 million dollars in 10 years if he signed a contract like that, but it was natural that the ransom price would go up as long as he could prove it in the United States.
I had enough confidence to prove it.
Although you may lose a little at first, it is better to sign a short-term contract and then a long-term contract to make more money. Therefore, the WBC was important now. In order to somehow raise the price in a short-term contract, he had to show good performance in this WBC, the last international tournament before going to the major league.
‘Are you ready? Mr. Rossby.’
And for my money, this WBC was scheduled to be with Mr. Rossby. After last year’s Korean Series, I decided to go through the season on my own, but this tournament is a showcase for my worth. I had to show my 100% sincerity.
‘Is it still difficult without me? Hehe.’
… Although I was slightly annoyed by Mr. Rossby speaking triumphantly.
‘Ugh, I have to endure it.’
There was no need for Mr. Rossby against a country the size of Laos, but I couldn’t count it as that. Because what was important was the record.
Adults and scouts like numbers.
‘I have to suck up my stats today.’
I was fully prepared to satisfy those adults.