Professional baseball legend Jeong Geun-woo and former Kia Tigers pitcher, current SPOTV baseball commentator Yoon Seok-min held an in-depth discussion about the decline of South Korean baseball's international competitiveness.

On the 8th, in a YouTube channel 'Jeong Geun-woo's Baseball Life,' Jeong invited Yoon as a guest and discussed the issue of South Korean baseball's international competitiveness for over 40 minutes in a podcast format. In particular, he shared heartfelt advice as a senior regarding the problems of the national baseball team, which has been showing weakness against not only Japan but also Taiwan in recent times.

Jeong Geun-woo emphasized that baseball is a team sport and that management is crucial, pointing out that there is a lack of experienced players who can manage the team and games on the current national team. He specifically mentioned the role of each player in the batting department, stating, "They cannot play baseball that suits the situation. Team betting is not ingrained in them." He also added that the evaluation criteria set by the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) should be applied more broadly.

Yoon Seok-min explained, "From the perspective of pitchers, when we had good results in international competitions in the past, we had pitchers who could manage the game and had good control, but currently, there is a lack of that on the national team."

A deeper discussion also took place regarding more fundamental issues. Jeong Geun-woo pointed out, "In Japan, you can see players who advance from little league baseball to Koshien, and the fundamentals they had as children are still solid. I wonder if we are playing baseball aimed at results rather than focusing on fundamentals."

Yoon Seok-min conveyed a message to the national team ahead of international competitions such as the World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying, "I hope the players become a little bolder. I think the players feel a lot of pressure because the recent results of the national team have not been good. I hope they come with pride in wearing the Taeguk mark and, even if they lose, just do what they can."

Jeong Geun-woo also advised, "I hope the KBO first has players capable of achieving results in international competitions build their weapons and skills in every game, every at-bat, and every pitch, and enhance the ability to manage games," and Yoon Seok-min stated, "I hope we can select players who can fulfill their roles rather than focusing on short-term results."

[OSEN]