2017 World Baseball Classic: South Korea Reveals ‘New Team Manager’ for September
South Korea will reveal the new national team manager for the 2017 World Baseball Classic tournament not later than September according to one of the official of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).
"The process of selecting South Korean manager for the 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) is expected to be finalized soon. We plan to finalize the manager appointment no later than early September. It can be done as early as next week," said by Yang Hae-young, the secretary general of KBO.
South Korea was led by Kim In-sik in the first two editions of the World Baseball Classic in 2006 and 2009. Kim is a former manager of the Korea Baseball Organization. He was named the manager of the South Korean national baseball team in June 2015. While in 2013, the team was led by Ryu Joong-il who is currently the manager of the Samsung Lions in the KBO.
The manager of the defending KBO champions took the national team job in the 2013 WBC and the 2014 Asian Games. In 2015, after the coaches complained that it is difficult to take care of both the national team and pro clubs, the KBO hired Kim, who was then head of the organization's technical committee, to lead the national team again.
Meanwhile, Yang said that St. Louis Cardinals closer Oh Seung-hwan is eligible for the national team even if he hasn't served a KBO suspension. But the KBO official refused and suggested that the squad selection for the WBC will be discussed after new manager is revealed.
KBO officials are choosing strictly among the said candidates for the new team manager because it's the first time in history for the country to hold the WBC games.
Furthermore, South Korea is one of the 12 nations that already qualified for the 2017 WBC based on their performance in the 2013 edition. South Korea is also ranked No. 3 in the latest WBSC rankings. The county which will host the WBC games for the first time, will stage first-round Pool B games at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul from March 7-10, 2017.