“Aren’t you a celebrity?”… ‘Blue Wave’ Yoo Hee-gwan, ‘Teacher’ Lee Kang-cheol took off their feet to cheer
“Aren’t you a celebrity?”
Lee Kang-chul, head coach of the Korean national baseball team, smiled brightly and threw a joke when he found his student Hee-gwan Yoo (37) visiting the Gocheok Sky Dome on the 3rd. Yoo Hee-gwan is the left-handed pitcher with the most wins in the history of the Doosan Bears with 101 wins. After retiring after the 2021 season, Yoo Hee-gwan is radiating talent in various fields as a baseball commentator, broadcaster, and YouTuber.
Director Lee welcomed Yoo Hee-gwan, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time, with a tight hug. When coach Lee served as head coach at Doosan, he had a relationship with Yoo Hee-gwan as his teacher and student. The disciple who visited to give strength to the mentor, who has now become the command tower leading the national team, had no choice but to look pretty. Yoo Hee-gwan shouted out loud to coach Lee, “I will cheer hard,” and wished Korea good luck at the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC).
Yoo Hee-gwan is also the official supporter of the national team, ‘Blue Wave’. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which supports the blue wave, strongly recommended Yu Hee-gwan, and Yu Hee-gwan actively expressed his will to “want to be together” and was confirmed as a member. In addition to Yoo Hee-gwan, former baseball player Shim Soo-chang and comedian Kim Min-kyung will be active together as a blue wave.
Blue Wave will directly watch and support the WBC Group B match against Australia and Japan on the 9th and 10th at Tokyo Dome, Japan. Yoo Hee-gwan announced the start of the blue wave by attending the supporters launching ceremony held at Gocheok Dome that day.
Yoo Hee-gwan said, “I think the national team’s power is really good. Looking at the fielders’ matches so far, they all look in good condition. In the end, it seems to depend on how well the pitchers’ condition improves. Right now, my interest is focused on the match against Japan, but my In my opinion, as the coach said, the match against Australia is the most important. I hope that the match against Australia will continue because I can go on with the momentum of winning the first match,” he left a message of support.
I did not forget to cheer for junior pitchers Kwak Bin and Jeong Cheol-won, who I lived with at Doosan. Yoo Hee-gwan said, “I think it will be a good experience for the two players,” and sincerely hoped that he would come back with all his skills on the international stage. 메이저놀이터
Meanwhile, the national team completed all preparations before leaving Japan on the 4th. Coach Lee said, “Practice is over, and now we are going to play. I think positively because the players are in good shape. I promise to the people, but I will do really well so that I can give hope and emotion. I ask for your support.” .
Yang Eui-ji (Doosan), catcher of the national team, also said, “It seems that we finished well without injury and moved on to Japan. I think all the players are doing their best with one heart. I think there will be good results, and everyone is full of confidence.” I was determined to achieve my goal of advancing to the semifinals and come back.