It was a nameless match. I felt comfortable watching him with his overwhelming defensive power worthy of a second baseman in the big leagues. The team chemistry is also flawless so far. The mindset is like that too. It is to the point where you can feel it the whole time watching that he is handling the Taegeuk mark more proudly than anyone else.
Tommy Hyeonsu Edman (28, St. Louis Cardinals) entered Korea, his mother’s country, through Incheon International Airport on the 1st. After a short training session with the team, he returned to Osaka, Japan, and played WBC official matches against Orix on the 6th and Hanshin on the 7th.
Edmund played in both games as the starting second baseman. He has not yet shown a special appearance as an offensive player with no hits and one walk in 6 at-bats. However, on defense, he showed absolutely overwhelming ability and showed why he was the 2021 National League Gold Glove winner in the second baseman category.
In particular, on the 6th, while making three errors at the shortstop position alone, Edmund showed comfortable defense as if he had predicted the batted ball in advance at the Kyocera Dome artificial turf field, where he played for the first time in his life. His excellent positioning, smooth handling, agile movement, and accurate throwing ability deserved to be regarded as the best of his defense. There were no breathing problems he feared. He produced many out counts while showing perfect harmony with members of the infield such as Oh Ji-hwan, Park Byung-ho, Choi Jeong, and Kim Ha-seong.
The secret to the 7-4 victory in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) official evaluation game against the Hanshin Tigers of the Japanese professional baseball team held at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka, Japan on the 7th was also the solid defense of fielders. Shortstop Kim Ha-seong, 2nd baseman Edmon, 3rd baseman Choi Jeong-1st baseman Park Byeong-ho, and the Plan A infield lineup, which were first activated, showed the best defense.
At the official press conference after the game, Edmund said, “I am proud to play in the Korean uniform. I’ve been waiting for this moment, and I’m excited and honored.” I’m glad that I’m going to the WBC finals, and I think I’ve created a good atmosphere.”
I also tried to match breathing with Kim Ha-seong in a keystone combination in a real game. Edmund said, “I saw him play for two years in the US. He watched while thinking that he was a great player. Ha-seong Kim has excellent defense and the range of defense is wide,” he said, “I enjoy watching Ha-seong Kim play. I’m glad I played well today. He said, “I hope that we will form a good combination in the future.”
In fact, in the game on the 7th, the range of defense in the infield covered by Kim Ha-seong and Edman was vast. Quite a few batted balls could not get out of the infield center line.
As his mother is Korean-American and his father is American, Edmund, as he is well known, uses the name ‘Hyeonsu’ as his middle name. However, he himself was born and raised in the United States, so he is not completely familiar with Korean culture yet. However, during the singing of the national anthem during the last two games of the evaluation match, it was noticeable that Edmund, along with other members of the national team, put his hand on his heart.
Edman said, “I was not aware of it because I was doing it in the United States,” and “I put my hand on my chest while being proud to be playing as a member of the Korean national team.” 바카라
Edman’s salute at the time of the national anthem is a symbolic scene. As a member of the national team, he was Edmund, who has been melting into a bright and serious figure so far. His skills, personality, motivation, and attitude are as expected of a big leaguer. There was a reason why national team coach Lee Kang-cheol nodded early, saying, “You did a good job bringing him.”