Reporter Lee Myung-dong = As the World Baseball Classic (WBC) approaches, the participating players are interested in what opportunities they will seize.
With the 2023 WBC two months away, the KBO announced 30 national team entries on the 4th. The national team, led by KT Wiz coach Lee Kang-cheol, is aiming for the best performance after finishing runner-up in 2009.
The tournament will be held from March 8 to 21 in Taiwan, Japan and the United States. It has been six years since the 2017 WBC in the aftermath of Corona 19.
20 countries participate in the competition. The matches will be held in the United States, Japan and Taiwan.
Korea and Japan were drawn together in Group B. Korea will meet Australia, Japan, Czech Republic and China in order in the first round from March 9 to 13.
As it is a popular international game, there are many factors that can motivate participating players.
In particular, Lee Jeong-hoo (Kiwoom), the best hitter in the KBO league, also made it to the Korean national team this time. He announced that he would advance overseas at the end of the 2023 season. It is evaluated that this tournament will be an opportunity for Lee Jung-hoo to leave a strong impression in order to advance to the Major League (MLB).
Rewards of up to 1 billion won… FA qualification by obtaining national team reward pointsParticipating players can receive economic compensation through the competition.
According to the KBO regulations, players receive 300,000 won per day during the representative call period. You will also receive a reward based on your performance in the competition. The WBC prize money is 1 billion won for the championship, 700 million won for the runner-up, and 300 million won for the semifinals. Separately, 50% of the prize money for WBC players is also received.
National team reward points are considered an important economic reward for players. For a player, free agent (FA) qualification is an opportunity to prove his worth by renewing a contract or moving a team.
The KBO rules stipulate that a player must be active in the regular 9 seasons after first registering in the KBO league to obtain FA qualification. Players who have exercised their FA rights will also be eligible again if they are active for 4 additional regular seasons.
Players who have registered with the KBO since 2006 must complete at least 145 regular season active registration days to be recognized as having played one regular season.
National team award points given to players in international competitions are included in this count. If you get 1 point, it counts as 1 FA registration day.
Athletes earn 10 points for each WBC appearance alone. If you reach the quarterfinals, semifinals, and semifinals, 10 points will be added to each. If you win, 20 points are added.
If you win, you will receive 60 points. If 60 points are received, the player enters the season with 60 days fulfilled in the 145-day registration day rule in the regular season.
Currently, the WBC is an international baseball tournament that can receive the most points if you win.
Prove your skills in international competitions… Attention factors in overseas leaguesIf you prove your ability in international competitions, you can leave a good impression on MLB and Nippon Baseball Organization (NPB). The WBC is a popular tournament watched by baseball fans and officials around the world.
His performance in the WBC will soon be watched by all clubs. So, for players, it is a great opportunity just to play in an international competition that is of high interest. If you show a high level of skill in the competition, overseas scouts believe in the ability of the player and pay attention.
At the time of the 2009 WBC, Lee Beom-ho of the Hanwha Eagles is a prime example.
In the tournament, Lee Bum-ho showed a sense of hitting, including three home runs. He appeared in 8 games and his final performance was 8-for-20 (3 home runs), 7 RBI, 5 runs scored and 2 walks. He recorded ‘.400 (batting average)/.458 (on-base percentage)/.900 (slugging percentage)’ and an OPS of 1.358 (outgoing percentage + slugging percentage).
Korea took second place in the competition. He was selected as a third baseman on the 2009 WBC Official All-Star Team.
When Lee Bum-ho proved his outstanding skills in international competitions, foreign clubs showed interest in him, who became a free agent in 2009. In the end, Beomho Lee signed a contract with the NPB Softbank Hawks and left for the Japanese League in 2010.
MLB and NPB will open their opening games on March 30 this year, and the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) on April 1. Athletes participating in the WBC can gain experience by playing against world-class players before the start of the league. There is also the benefit of helping to raise the senses at the beginning of the 2023 season.
Even if you win, there is no military service benefitEven if you win the WBC, there is no exemption from military service for participating players. 메이저놀이터
Special military service means transfer to sports personnel. If you are transferred as a physical education agent, you just have to complete 544 hours of volunteer work for 34 months while working as an athlete after basic military training.
Both WBCs have been included in the military service exemption.
In 2002, the government amended the Enforcement Decree of the Military Service Act to grant special benefits for military service to ‘those who placed 16th or higher in the World Cup soccer tournament’. Military service privileges were also applied to the WBC, which was called the Baseball World Cup.
When the national team reached the semifinals at the 1st WBC in 2006, public opinion that they should be given preferential treatment for military service increased. In September of the same year, the government revised the Enforcement Decree of the Military Service Act and applied it retroactively. Military service benefits were granted to 11 people, including three overseas members (Choi Hee-seop, Kim Seon-woo, and Bong Joong-geun) and eight domestic members (Oh Seung-hwan, Bae Young-soo, Jeon Byung-doo, Jeong Seong-hoon, Jeong Jae-hoon, Lee Jin-young, Kim Tae-gyun, and Lee Beom-ho).
As the criterion of ‘advancing to the semifinals of the WBC’ caused controversy over fairness with other fields and events, the WBC was excluded from military service benefits at the end of 2007 through the enforcement ordinance of the revision of the Military Service Act.
Since then, opinions on military service benefits for baseball have been steadily coming out, but they have not been reflected.