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On a day in which the National League and American League Silver Slugger winners were announced, the news surrounding the Pittsburgh Pirates organization was light. However, there was some news involving the World Baseball Classic and one Pirates player in particular.
Jung Ho Kang isn’t unfamiliar with the World Baseball Classic. The 29-year old represented Korea in the 2013 WBC and will do so again in 2017 as he was named to the roster yesterday afternoon.
.@MLB abroad: Shin-Soo Choo, Hyun Soo Kim, Jung Ho Kang & Dae-Ho Lee will all suit up for Korea’s team in the #WBC. https://t.co/iBKuvExFdd pic.twitter.com/RCImVSCtbA
— WBC Baseball (@WBCBaseball) November 10, 2016
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As a member of Korea’s team in 2013, Kang went 2-for-9 (.222) with a home run and 2 RBIs in three WBC games.
Though he is the only member of the Pirates to have been announced to a WBC team at this point in time, he will likely not be the last.
According to Rob Biertempfel of the Tribune Review, Kang may not be the only Pirate who is asked to compete. In his article regarding Kang’s selection to the Korean team, he lists Francisco Cervelli, Starling Marte, Gregory Polanco and Jameson Taillon as Pirates who could also be asked to play.
I wasn’t completely shocked to see the other names aside from Jung Ho Kang, mainly because they are all solid players. Aside from Kang, Cervelli is the only player listed by Biertempfel to have ever competed at the World Baseball Classic. However, if these players were to get spots on rosters, it would be good for the Pirates organization and good for the game of baseball. Now, you may say, why is it good for the game of baseball. Well, I’ll tell you.
Being a small market team, the Pirates aren’t always on the radar of people outside of Pittsburgh. Being on the huge WBC stage could give young players such as Marte, Polanco and Taillon an opportunity to show the world just how good they are.
It won’t be easy for Marte and Polanco to make the Dominican Republic roster, but they have done enough in their young careers to at least warrant consideration. Taillon has limited experience at the major league level, but he could make the Canadian roster with ease.
Like I said before, when it comes to Francisco Cervelli, he does have experience when it comes to the WBC. Cervelli represented Italy at the 2009 World Baseball Classic. Cervelli’s father is Italian, while his mother is Venezuelan. The Pirates catcher was born in Venezuela and, in his article, Biertempfel has Cervelli’s possible team listed as the Venezuelan squad. Cervelli is eligible to play for either squad, but it will be interesting to see if he indeed switches teams for this year’s tournament.
In the coming weeks, I’m sure more rosters will be completed, but for now it’s nice to think the Pirates will be well represented at the WBC Tournament.
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