WBC Team Preview: Korea

An old man, a muscle man and four players following in the footsteps of Tommy Edman will try to help Korea advance out of the first round for the first time since 2009.

 

Notable Players

Hyun Min Ahn, 6-feet tall and 198 pounds, is nicknamed Muscle Man for his impressive physique. More impressive, the 22-year-old hit 22 home runs in the KBO last season in 482 plate appearances while slashing .334/.448/.570. The outfielder walked more times (75) than he struck out (72).

Infielder Do Yeong Kim, also 22, was the youngest player in KBO history to post a 30-30 season when he hit 38 homers and stole 40 bases in 2024. The .347/.420/.647 slash line that went with it wasn’t bad either.

In 2023, Edman became the first player born outside of Korea to play for the team in the WBC. This year, four MLB players have that distinction: Jahmai Jones (Tigers), Riley O’Brien (Cardinals), Dane Dunning (Mariners) and Shay Whitcomb (Astros). Other MLB players on the roster include Hyeseong Kim (Dodgers), Jung Hoo Lee (Giants) and Woo-Suk Go, a 27-year-old reliever who the Tigers signed to a minor-league deal this month. Go saved 139 games over seven seasons in the KBO.

Hyun Jin Ryu, who went 78-48 and pitched to a 3.27 ERA in 10 seasons with the Dodgers and Blue Jays, will pitch in his second WBC 17 years after appearing in his first. The 38-year-old threw his last MLB pitch in 2023.

Manager

Ji-Hyun Ru will be managing in his first WBC. He managed the KBO’s LG Twins for two seasons (2021-2022), was a coach for the Korean team in two WBCs (2006 and 2013) and played 11 seasons as a middle infielder in the KBO (1994-2004).

WBC History

Korea’s best showing was in 2009, when it advanced to the final against Japan. That game was a classic. Korea tied it at 3-3 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth when Bum Ho Lee singled in a run. Ichiro Suzuki (who else?) connected for a two-out, two-run single in the top of the 10th and 22-year-old Yu Darvish recorded the final outs of the 5-3 Japan victory.

In 2023, Korea split four games in pool play, including getting upset by Australia, and failed to advance.

Pool

Korea is in Pool C, games taking place in Tokyo, with Japan, Chinese Taipei, Australia and Czechia. Its first game is on March 5 vs. Czechia. Korea and defending champion Japan are the favorites to advance to the quarterfinals, which will be the top two teams from each pool.

For a ranking of all 20 teams by MMO’s Robert Colonna, click here.

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