Tommy Edman (28‧ St. Louis) is an American born in California. However, his mother is Korean, and half of his blood is Korean. He is well aware of this himself, and has passed on the love his mother gave him into affection for Korea. That unique background led to the process of writing a new chapter in the history of the Korean national team.
The national team led by coach Lee Kang-cheol selected Edmund as one of the 30 representative players to participate in the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) to be held in March. Unlike other competitions that are strict on nationality, the WBC allows you to follow your parental lineage. relatively flexible This is the reason Edmund, an ‘American national’ whose mother is of Korean descent, was able to participate in the Korean national team. Edmund made the first case of joining the national team as a player born in Korea and not a nationality.
He was sure of his skills. Even the technical committee of the national team spent a long time convincing them to participate. Louis made his major league debut in 2019 and has now established himself as the team’s undisputed starter. He won the Gold Glove in 2021, and last year he also did his share in his offense and solidified his position. He is the epitome of a multi-player, playing shortstop, second base, third base, and even the outfield in emergencies.
Edmund, who is expected to build the national team’s keystone combination with Kim Ha-seong, appeared on a program on the Major League Network on the 21st (Korean time) and revealed the background of participating in this tournament and his determination for the future. Edmund, who answered the question with a bright smile, said, “Thank you for inviting me to the national team. It is a great honor because I think I am the first foreign player to have played for the Korean national team. It is the first time that a non-Korean foreign player has played for the national team.” I laughed.
Edman said, “I knew I was eligible 온라인바카라 (to compete in the WBC). KBO officials contacted me during last season and had a meeting with them in September during the season.” “I spoke with Arenado, who played for the U.S. at the WBC in 2017. Both told me it was the greatest experience of their baseball careers. So as soon as they heard they had a chance to play for the Korean team, they didn’t have to think.” explained.
Even locally, the ‘Korea-Japan War’ between Korea and Japan is a big topic. In the 2009 tournament, the world began to understand this rivalry as they met a total of five times from the preliminaries to the finals, all fighting fiercely. In fact, unlike our players who grew up learning this air from a young age, it is not easy for Edmon to understand this environment 100%. However, Edmund is also slowly becoming a Korean player. He seemed to already engrave the importance of the Korea-Japan war into his heart.
Edman said, “It is the competition between Korea and Japan that I keep getting asked about. I think there has always been a fierce competition between the two countries since the WBC started,” he said. The environment at the Tokyo Dome is really fantastic, so I won’t understand everything until I go there and experience it, but I’m really looking forward to it.”