Kia Tigers pitcher Lee Yi-ri, who was controversially replaced at the Hangzhou Asian Games, has been named to the APBC team. While the controversy surrounding Lee's selection has divided public opinion, the underlying issue is courtesy and respect for athletes.

On October 24, the KBO officially announced the final and preliminary rosters for the APBC 2023, which will be held at the Tokyo Dome in Japan from November 16-19. The APBC is a national competition for players under the age of 24 or within their third year of playing. Korea will be joined by Japan, Taiwan, and Australia.

Ryu Jung-il, who led Korea to a gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games, has been appointed as the head coach of the APBC to ensure continuity.

One of the biggest questions surrounding the final APBC roster was whether Lee would be selected. Lee, who was named to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and 2023 WBC squads, had to deal with a shocking change to the Hangzhou Asian Games squad. It was an emotional moment for the athlete, who was unable to express her feelings when it was announced. 안전토토사이트

Lee was removed from the roster one day before the Hangzhou Asian Games, swapping places with outfielder Yoon Dong-hee. The ostensible reason for the switch was a blistered finger. "We decided it was difficult for Lee Yi-ri to throw more than 80 pitches after suffering a finger blister injury," said Ryu Jung-il at a press conference on September 23.

However, Lee proved that the blister was not affecting him by making his first regular-season start (77 pitches in seven innings against the NC on Sept. 27). Lee pitched even better in October, posting a 2.25 ERA and 20 strikeouts in three starts.

Lee's season seemed to be coming to a close as her team was eliminated from the postseason. However, he remained on the preliminary roster for the APBC and was still in the running for a spot on the final roster. Despite the controversy over her Asian Games roster, Lee said, "I will always be ready to play if they call me."

In the end, the KBO Power Enhancement Committee, which had removed Lee from the Hangzhou Asian Games roster, reinstated him to the APBC squad.

A baseball insider said, "I heard that the KBO Power Enhancement Committee was impressed with Lee's pitching at the end of the regular season. We understand that the committee agreed to select Lee because there are not enough left-handers in the preliminary roster."

The controversy over Lee Yi-ri's selection to the APBC team has turned into a controversy over Lee Yi-ri's selection to the APBC team just one day before the Asian Games. In reality, there is nothing wrong with Lee's inclusion in the APBC team. The national team is an athlete's dream, and it's where they have to give it their all. The controversy over the previous Asian Games substitutions shouldn't be a reason to deny a player or club a spot.

However, the underlying issue is courtesy and respect for the athlete. In Lee's case, he never received a detailed explanation of the reasoning behind the change from Ryu Jung-il or the KBO's Power Enhancement Committee. He was simply informed of the change through his club. This shows a complete lack of consideration for the feelings of the players they handpicked.

Whether it was an injury or a lack of performance, it would have been sincere to discuss the reason for the substitution with the player and seek his understanding a day before the call-up date. However, Ryu's "no 80-ball pitching theory" that didn't work out in the end only made the players' feelings worse. The Asian Games gold medal is a clear achievement, but the controversy over the roster change is also a clear point of criticism.

In the baseball world, many people said, "If you have a problem with it, you'll pick it," when it came to the APBC selection. However, Ryu Joong-il and the KBO Power Enhancement Committee chose Lee again, this time after he was unable to confirm whether or not he had a blister on his finger in an actual game. It seems unlikely that Ryu sent a message to Lee before the roster was announced. We wonder what Ryu will say to Lee when he meets with the national team, and whether we will see a hindsight version of the common political phrase, "salt-of-the-earth".