S. Korean baseball team stranded in U.S. due to airplane defects

▲ South Korea manager Lee Kang-chul watches his pitchers during a practice session for the World Baseball Classic at Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona, on Feb. 27, 2023. (Yonhap)

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S. Korean baseball team stranded in U.S. due to airplane defects

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 27 (Yonhap) -- Several members of the South Korean national baseball team, including manager Lee Kang-chul, were grounded in the United States on Monday night due to airplane defects.

The team was scheduled to fly out of Tucson, Arizona, after wrapping up a two-week training camp for the World Baseball Classic (WBC) and land in Los Angeles on Monday before boarding a homebound flight.

However, the plane carrying Lee and 25 other coaches, players and team staffers from Tucson was grounded due to mechanical problems.

A national team official said the group took a bus to Los Angeles instead and was scheduled to arrive there in the early hours of Tuesday.

From Los Angeles, the national team was to travel in two groups, so that all members could fly home business, and land at Incheon International Airport at around 5 a.m. Wednesday. The team has scheduled a workout at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul for Thursday, followed by a scrimmage at the same venue Friday.

However, the stranded group may not arrive back home until Thursday, which will throw the training schedule out of whack.

The team is scheduled to travel to Osaka on Saturday and will play two official exhibition games there against Japanese clubs before hopping over to Tokyo for the tournament.

South Korea's first Pool B game is against Australia on March 9 at Tokyo Dome.

The disruption in Tucson is the latest bit of off-field drama for South Korea in its U.S. camp. The team had one scrimmage pushed back and another canceled due to inclement weather. Pitchers in particular struggled in dry and unseasonably cold conditions in the desert as they tried to get accustomed to throwing the official WBC ball, which has lower seams and slicker surface than the ball in the Korea Baseball Organization.

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