Choi Won-ho takes Korea helm for Tokyo baseball showdown

The national baseball team on Monday named the manager for an upcoming regional tournament, promoting veteran coach Choi Won-ho to the top position.

The KBO said that Choi will be in charge of the national team for the Asia Professional Baseball Championship (APBC), scheduled to take place in Tokyo from Nov. 12 to 15, with Japan, Australia and Taiwan in action.

The national team managerial position became vacant last week when Ryu Ji-hyun was hired as the new skipper of the KBO club Hanwha Eagles.

Choi, 53, once managed the Eagles. He has also served on the national team coaching staff at several international tournaments, most recently as quality control coach at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March and as pitching coach at the Asian Games in September, both under Ryu. Korea reached the quarterfinals at the WBC and won the gold medal at the Asian Games.

The KBO said it valued Choi's coaching experience with the national team and his understanding of international competitions.

Choi will meet with the APBC national team at the start of training camp Nov. 2, according to the KBO.

The APBC is open to players aged 24 or younger, and teams can each bring up to three players who are between 24 and 29 years old or have no more than three years of professional experience.

The first APBC was played in 2017. After the 2021 tournament was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the second edition took place in 2023.

In both events, Japan defeated Korea in the final.

Yonhap