South Korean infielder Kim Ha-seong will be one of 10 members of the San Diego Padres competing at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) this month. He is hoping he can meet a few of them in the final.
Kim arrived home Wednesday evening and is scheduled to report to his first workout with the national team Thursday at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. While South Korea trained in Tucson, Arizona, for the past two weeks, Kim was gearing up for both the tournament and his third major league season in spring training with the Padres.
With three spring training games under his belt, Kim will now put his focus solely on taking South Korea deep into the 20-team tournament.
South Korea will open Pool B play against Australia on March 9 at Tokyo Dome. Japan, the Czech Republic and China will follow.
After round-robin action in Pool B, the top two nations will move on to the quarterfinals, also at Tokyo Dome. The semifinals and the final will be in Miami.
From the Padres, the Dominican Republic is best represented with four players, and one of them, All-Star third baseman Manny Machado, put down the gauntlet, Kim said.
“He told me we should meet in the final,” Kim told reporters at Incheon International Airport. “Obviously, our goal is to go play in the U.S. (and make at least the semifinals).”
The Dominican Republic is in Pool D. The earliest point that South Korea and the Dominican Republic can meet will be in the semifinals.
Kim could have an early showdown against a Padres teammate, if Japanese ace Yu Darvish gets the starting nod against South Korea on March 10.
“I will share with my Korean teammates everything I know about Yu Darvish,” Kim said. “He’s a great player but I think my teammates can hit any pitcher.”
Kim and the one other major leaguer for South Korea, Tommy Edman of the St. Louis Cardinals, will form a stout middle infield. Kim was a finalist for the National League Gold Glove at shortstop last year, and Edman won the award at second base in 2021.
Edman, who arrived here at about 6 a.m. Wednesday, said he was “really excited” to learn from Kim and bounce ideas off of each other.
When told of Edman’s comments, Kim said, “I am grateful for his words. He’s a better player than I am. Hopefully, we will both play well and take the team to the U.S.”
Kim played in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) for seven seasons from 2014 to 2020 for the Kiwoom Heroes, and will be reunited with a few former teammates and other familiar faces at the WBC. Kim’s standing within the national team is much different now than at previous international events, now that he is an established major leaguer. But Kim said it hasn’t changed his approach.
“I don’t really have any advice that I can give them. I know they’ve all worked hard to this point, and they’re all great players,” Kim said. “If we all do our best, we will have great results in the end.”
Source: Yonhap News Agency