2008 Olympics: Republic of Korea National Team Breakdown

"The Land of the Morning Calm" is anything but when it comes to sporting events—sports fans in South Korea live on the cutting edge of fanaticism. The Red Devils, for example, a "vociferous and dynamic group of supporters," are known internationally as some of the loudest, most enthusiastic soccer fans on the planet.

Baseball's no different. This is the place that invented "thunder sticks," after all, which gained prominence in the States during the Anaheim Angels' run to the 2002 World Championship. South Koreans call them "stick balloons," and fans have been smacking them together on every pitch since the early 1990s.

Sexy women cheerleaders in white cowboy boots...with whistles? Check. Huge contingents of fans that follow their favorite teams on the road? Check. So the question becomes, if South Korea and Chinese Taipei play one another, and a tree falls in the forest, will you hear anything at all? Or just the din of 30,000 fans screaming for their national team?

Here's the 2008 South Korean Olympic baseball starting lineup, as I see it:

MANAGER: Kim Kyung-moon, Republic of Korea National Team. Kim has predicted the South Koreans will be in contention for the gold, which of course is different than predicting they’ll win the gold. Regardless, he’s left a little short-handed with many MiLBers refusing their “national duty” and declining Kim’s invitation to join the national team. South Korean fans, of course, are incredulous. It’s almost enough to make a country wish they were communist.

CATCHER: Jin Kab-yong, Samsung Lions. There are so few things in life you can rely on: death; taxes; and Jin Kab-yong behind the dish for the Republic of Korea. A veteran of the 1994 World Cup, 1996 Olympics, and 2006 World Baseball Classic, Jin owns a KBO league line of .277/.342/.422 over more than 1,000 games. He won the Gold Glove in 2002 and 2005; he was an All-Star selection in 2002-2004 and then again in 2006.

FIRST BASE: Lee Seung-yeop, Yomiuri Giants.. Perhaps the only bonafide star on the South Korean National Team, “The Lion King” is a JBL All-Star who, at the age of twenty-six, became the youngest professional baseball player in the world to hit 300 home runs. He won five MVPs before the age of twenty-nine, whereupon he transferred to the JBL, leaving his career 1.024 OPS in the KBO. Now thirty-one, Lee batted .478 with 2 homeruns and 12 RBI in the Olympic Qualifying Round. He’s batting .313 for his career in international play, with 9 HRs and 42 RBI in 37 games. He’s the only national team member not currently playing in the Korean professional league.

SECOND BASE: Ko Young-min, Doosan Bears. An offensive-minded second baseman, Ko hit .368/.480/.421 in the Final Qualification Tournament to lead the South Korean National Team to Beijing.

THIRD BASE: Jeong Keun-woo, SK Wyverns. A four-year veteran of the KBO, Jeong hit .323 (4th in the league) in 2007 and led the Wyverns to the championship. He won the Gold Glove in 2006, putting up a line of .284/.345/.402 and 45 stolen bases. A versatile infielder, he’ll man the hot-corner or see time at DH in the Olympics.

SHORTSTOP: Kim Min-jae, Hanwha Eagles. Considered one of the best defensive infielders in the league, Kim represented South Korea in the 2006 WBC and scored the winning run against Japan in Round 2. He hit .273 for that tournament with 1 RBI. Not a huge threat with the bat (his lifetime batting average is only .249) he’s basically Adam Everett—a spectacular defender but otherwise close to an automatic out.

LEFT FIELD: Lee Taek-keun, Hyundai Unicorns. A converted catcher, Lee has been a member of the South Korean National Team since he was an All-Star at the position in 1998. This righty owns a lifetime .308 batting average in the KBO and hit .320/.345/.360 in the 2008 Final Olympic Qualification Tournament. He won the Gold Glove in 2006 by hitting .322/.400/.446, and finished in the top-ten in batting average again in 2007 and 2008.

CENTER FIELD: Lee Jong-wook, Doosan Bears. Lee turned down a 90 million won bonus to serve in the military after college. Three years later he joined the Bears and stole 51 bases as a rookie. One of the top basestealers in the KBO, his feats (feets?) of daring are legendary. A 2007 Gold Glove winner, he’ll bat leadoff.

RIGHT FIELD: Likely a timeshare between Lee Jin-young and Lee Yong-kyu.

DESIGNATED HITTER: Perhaps Lee Dae-ho, or if Dae-ho is playing third, Jeong Keun-woo, or perhaps whoever’s not playing right field at the time. Who knows, really?

STARTING ROTATION: Kim Kwang-hyun, Ryu Hyun-jin, Bong Jung-keun and Song Seung-jun.

BULLPEN: Submariners Chung Dae-hyun, Yoon Seok-min, and Woo Kyu-min.

Korea was at the center of controversy in the 2006 WBC when it swept its way through the opening round, swept its way through the second round, and then had to play Japan (for the third time!) in the semi-finals. South Korea lost the third match-up, and Japan advanced to the finals despite A) having lost more tournament games than South Korea and B) having lost twice to South Korea! It was a cluster-f*** worthy of the Bud Selig era, and fans of South Korea were rightly outraged.

South Korea won the Olympic bronze medal in 2000 but did not qualify for the Olympics in 2004 (they had some good company—the United States didn’t qualify that year either). Otherwise it’s been four Olympic appearances in twenty-four years and only one medal. They also earned a bronze medal in the 2006 Asian Games.

This is a good team—maybe not ‘medal’ good, but very competitive. Like Canada , this country should truly shine in the 2009 WBC with the expected additions of Choo Shin-soo, Lim Chang-yong, Park Chan-ho, and even perhaps Kim Byung-hyun.