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South Korea was one of the disappointments during the group stage of the World Baseball Classic after being eliminated with a record of 2 wins and 2 losses.
The team was heavily criticized for the early elimination and now a scandal has been uncovered. Three players admitted to having gone to drink alcohol during the days of the group stage.
SSG Landers pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun, NC Dinos pitcher Lee Yong-chan, and Doosan Bears pitcher Jeong Cheol-won, They are the three players who confessed to having gone drinking during the group stage that was held in Tokyo, Japan.
A report was published weeks ago detailing that the three players went out drinking before facing Australia in the tournament’s debut on March 8. and then before facing Japan on March 9. The South Koreans lost both games and were nearly eliminated after those losses.
The players claimed to have ingested alcohol, although they detailed that those were not the dates but that they first drank on March 7 (one day before the debut). and again after the Japan game on March 10. They also specified that they were not with waitresses.
“I would like to apologize to all baseball fans and fellow players from the bottom of my heart for acting so foolishly during the national team tournament.” Kim read in a statement. “I’m sorry I didn’t exercise my self-control as a team veteran,” the 34-year-old said.
The SSG Landers team removed Kim from the active pitching list in the Korea Baseball League, even though he was scheduled to pitch on Thursday.
The KBO (Korean League) explained that it has no reason to sanction the players involved, although it recognizes that they must represent the team “with honor and dignity”.
Likewise, the Korean Baseball League will review whether the players broke any of the rules established by the code of conduct in the selection.
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