ST. LOUIS — The 2023 World Baseball Classic will feature many St. Louis Cardinals players, including Tyler O'Neill and Tommy Edman.
Tyler O'Neill said during the Cardinals Winter Warm-Up that he plans to represent Canada's team. Tommy Edman plans to play on South Korea's team.
"Really excited for that," O'Neill said. "It's just a different feeling, I'm just really excited to be a part of it."
"I haven't really gotten a chance to represent my Korean heritage before and to be the first Korean-American player to play for that national team is a very special honor," Edman said.
The World Baseball Classic will begin in early March. The tournament expanded from 16 teams in 2017 to now 20 teams taking part in the tournament.
"I think it's great for the sport globally to see players representing their country," O'Neill said.
A total of seven Cardinals players, including O'Neill and Edman, will be participating in the World Baseball Classic.
Adam Wainwright, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado and Miles Mikolas will play for the United States National Team. Lars Nootbar will play for Japan's team.
Edman explains how he began hitting and training earlier in the offseason to prepare for representing South Korea's team.
"I started hitting a little earlier this offseason, partly because of the World Baseball Classic and partly cause I wanted to get going again earlier," Edman said.
"I started the Duolingo Korean just to get used to all the consonants and vowels cause it's a little bit different, I don't know how good my Korean will get over the next month," he said.
Edman's sister, mother and grandmother will travel to watch him play in the World Baseball Classic in Japan. Before then, he'll get to visit South Korea.
"My family is all very excited. I don't believe my mom has been back to Korea since she was a kid, she'll get to go," Edman said.
"My wife has the Japanese side in her, so there is a little rivalry. She'll be going to Japan and her parents will make the trip out as well. Lots of family out there with us."
When asked if Edman's wife will cheer on Lars Nootbar, who is representing Japan in the tournament, Edman said: "I hope not."
The Cardinals Winter Warm-Up takes place Saturday, Jan. 14 through Monday, Jan. 16 at Busch Stadium. Information regarding the event can be found here.
