Korean-American right-hander Riley O’Brien (30) of the St. Louis Cardinals will wear the national flag.
O’Brien announced that he plans to participate in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) South Korean national team at a club event held in St. Louis on the 18th (Korea Standard Time).
He added that he is planning a trip to participate in the first round of the WBC in Japan.
사진 확대 Riley O’Brien has declared his participation in the WBC South Korean national team. 사진=ⓒAFPBBNews = News1
Born to an American father and a Korean mother, he had previously expressed a positive intention to participate in the national team.
National team coach Ryu Ji-hyun also mentioned the possibility of two players, O’Brien and Detroit Tigers utility Jamai Jones, joining the team while departing for Saipan training earlier.
Director Ryu said in an interview at the time, “He showed an active attitude when we communicated since last year. It’s still going that way to this day. If there is no big problem, I expect to join,” he said.
사진 확대 National team coach Ryu Ji-hyun said earlier that he is looking forward to O’Brien joining the national team. Photo courtesy = Yonhap News
And this time, the players predicted that they would join the national team.
O’Brien will become the first Korean pitcher to join the team in the history of the Korean national baseball team. In the last tournament, infielder Tommy Edman participated.
O’Brien settled in the big leagues with his best performance in 2025, his fourth season in the major leagues.
In 42 appearances and 48 innings, he played 3-1, 6 saves, a 2.06 ERA, and a WHIP of 1.1466 with 0.4 homers, 4.1 walks, and 8.4 strikeouts per 9 innings, showing his best performance since his debut.
The WBC can choose the national team based on the nationality of their parents, even if they do not have the nationality of the country concerned. In addition to O’Brien, the national team expects up to three to four Korean players to join.
[KIM JAE HO, MK Sports Reporter]