Zhang Yucheng
Zhang Yucheng, who is currently a free player living in the United States, was rumored to have declined to participate in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) that started in March due to preparations for the new baseball season. This news immediately aroused heated discussions on the Internet. Many negative comments poured into his social media, and his nickname was even changed at one point. In this regard, Zhang Yucheng said that he can understand the dissatisfaction of fans, and will regard these emotions as the outside world's expectations of him, and will transform them into nutrients and opportunities to play for the Chinese team in the new season and in the future.
Zhang Yucheng had a career year in 2021, setting the major league record with 9 home runs in a single season. However, his performance last year was not ideal. He started with the Guardians at the beginning of the season, but experienced diagnosis and low ebbs. After arriving, he was designated for transfer (DFA) by the Guardians, and then successively wore the jerseys of the Pirates, Rays, Red Sox, etc. In total, he played 69 games last season, 168 hits, 35 hits, including 4 home runs, and a batting average of 208%.
The Chinese team was led by Lin Yueping, the head coach of the Unified Lions, in this classic game. The 50-man roster was produced on November 17 last year. "Pie Boss" pointed out at the time that the roster this time included 23 pitchers and fielders 27 (including 6 catchers), including 11 foreign players and 1 amateur player. However, due to the signing of an agreement between the secondary school and the players union, the list was not announced at that time, but there was speculation that Zhang Yucheng would be included in the list.
It is understood that Zhang Yucheng did receive a call inquiring about participation when he just returned to Taiwan from the United States. Although he was very willing to put on the jersey of the Chinese team and play for the national team, he was later approached by several American professional teams, and one team even offered a major league contract with a 40-man roster. Therefore, after many discussions with the American agency, he decided to focus on career development and declined to participate in the Chinese team.
However, the biggest reason why this time will trigger a heated discussion on the Internet is because Zhang Yucheng obtained the 12-day supplementary qualification after the 2019 Asian Championships and was listed as a scheduled player by the Sports Administration. According to the "Article 6 of the Measures for Supplementary Military Service for National Sports and Competition Representative Teams", scheduled players should participate in training or competitions as designated by the Sports Administration during the period of supervision. Therefore, whether to "recruit" players has become the biggest key.
