“Honestly, there was a request from Japan to interview Yang Eui-ji and Lee Ji-young, but I declined. I honestly support Korea.”
Yuji Serizawa, Doosan Bears battery coach, met with reporters at the Blacktown Baseball Stadium in Sydney, Australia on the 5th and told the story behind receiving a call from the Japanese media while talking about Yang Eui-ji (36), the housewife. The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) Korean national team selected Yang Eui-ji and Lee Ji-young (37, Kiwoom Heroes) as catchers, both of whom have ties to coach Serizawa. Yang Eui-ji is now the homemaker Serizawa coaches trust the most, and Lee Ji-young has experience guiding when he was a Samsung Lions battery coach.
To begin with, Coach Serizawa did not respond to the Japanese media’s request. He said, “I received a request from Japan to talk about Yang Eui-ji and Lee Ji-young in relation to the WBC, and I refused, saying that I could not talk about that. My students, Yang Eui-ji and Lee Ji-young, are both catchers of the national team, so I honestly support Korea.” laughed heartily.
He added, “Haven’t I been a coach in Korea for more than 10 years? There are more players I don’t know in Japan than in Korea. I belong to Doosan and I have to support Korea because I get paid. This is a really honest story.”
National team battery coach Jin Gap-yong is also Serizawa’s former student at Samsung. Coach Serizawa said, “If you include coach Jin Gap-yong, they are all students who have been with me. I cannot say that I have grown them, but it is meaningful that I have been with them.
Korea is in Group B of the first round of the tournament, along with Japan, Australia, China and the Czech Republic. The biggest enemy is, of course, the ‘old enemy’ Japan.
When asked about how to attack Japan, coach Serizawa said, “Shohei Otani (29, LA Angels) is probably the key point. Still, Ohtani’s fastball will be able to respond to some extent. Now, especially in the spring, he will be able to hit the fastball somehow. Because I practice hitting a lot, I think it will be a battle whether I can hit a breaking ball or not.”
Concerns and support for Yang Eui-ji, who is eating rice in a pot right now, continued. Coach Serizawa said, “Yang Eui-ji’s mindset will be complicated. He will think that he has to pay off the debt of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and he will also have the idea that he needs to be the main axis of the team (Doosan). I have no choice but to support Yang Eui-ji,” he said with strength. 온라인바카라
Since 2010, coach Serizawa has met various top-notch catchers in Korea, such as Yang Eui-ji and Lee Ji-young, Park Kyung-wan, Jin Gap-yong, and Yoo Gang-nam (currently Lotte Giants), while going through SK Wyverns (now SSG Landers), Samsung, LG Twins, and Doosan.
Serizawa’s coach explained, “Park Kyung-wan was good with the ball, and Jin Gab-yong was good at solving the game. Yoo Kang-nam has good stamina and can play many games, and that is also his ability.”
“It is an honor as a coach to meet Yang Eui-ji. Batters usually fight pitchers, but Yang Eui-ji has a presence that makes him fight not only the pitcher but also the catcher. Yang Eui-ji is the only such existence. Great catchers such as Jin Gap-yong and Park Kyung-wan I was with them, but I think Yang Eui-ji is also a top-notch player,” he said, hoping that Yang Eui-ji will return to Doosan after achieving good results at the WBC and continue his good performance as a hostess.