“I wondered if I should have done it.”
Lotte Giants pitcher Choi Jun-yong (22)’s conversion to bat was the biggest story of Lotte’s final camp. In front of new manager Kim Tae-hyung, Choi pitched out of the bullpen and took fielding and batting practice as a hitter. The hectic training routine was repeated until he was selected for the Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC).
“My arm has been hurting since I was 20 years old, four years ago. It wasn’t a lot of pain, but it hurt often. So I was worried about it a lot. Then, in early May, I told the club about switching to batting or doing a dual job, but the manager changed, so it seemed like it was just going to happen,” he explained.
Kim Tae-hyung, the new manager, also understood what Choi Jun-yong was going through and what kind of situation he was in. “The manager called me and said, ‘I could hear that you were playing. He said, ‘What’s the reason?’ I was sick the whole time, so I was worried. I told the club in May this year and told them my situation, so they said, ‘Let’s give it a try,’ so I’ve been training,” he explained.
He continued, “I got sick a lot, and rehabbing became mentally exhausting. Originally, I thought that if I got sick, I would work harder and try to make it to the first team, but I rehabbed once or twice every year, and I rehabbed three times this year alone. I think injuries are the biggest thing. 카지노사이트킴 I want to be a pitcher so badly, but I want to play my favorite baseball while being sick so that I don’t get sick,” he said, revealing that he decided to try hitting after much deliberation.
Choi Jun-yong is an athletic player.
Until he was a teenager, he also played shortstop. In high school, he became a full-time pitcher, but occasionally showed off his power by hitting free balls. Testimonies from his teammates and former teammates at Gyeongnam High School, such as Lee Ju-hyung (Kiwoom) and Noh Si-hwan (Hanwha), confirm this.
However, the professional game is a completely different stage. If you try to be a two-hit wonder, you won’t be able to establish yourself in both fields. It’s a place where you can focus on one thing and not give 100%. For Choi, who didn’t even have a batting record in high school, he had to start from scratch. He had to spend at least three new years at the bottom. It’s a waste of time for him and for the club.
Manager Kim Tae-hyung acknowledged Choi’s challenge to become a batsman, saying, “He has to try it and feel it,” but he had to be realistic about the situation. For Kim Tae-hyung, Choi Jun-yong is a player who should have a spot in the bullpen. However, when he heard about the switch, he couldn’t help but feel confused.
I looked at it with regret, saying, “I wonder if he would have thought of that,” but I also had to think realistically.
Once he decided to switch to the batter’s box
He found his answer at the APBC tournament, which he participated in while training. Choi pitched two games in the Tokyo Dome, the heart of Japanese baseball, and showed his guts in the Korea-Japan game. In two games, he pitched 2 1/3 innings with three hits, one walk, and two strikeouts.
In the eighth inning of the preliminary round, he pitched one inning of two-hit ball, striking out two and walking none. After a day of rest, he pitched again in the final against Japan on the 19th. In the bottom of the seventh inning of a 2-2 game, he pitched 1 1/3 innings of one-hit, one-strikeout ball. He confidently threw his fastball up to 152 kilometers.
“I don’t think it’s going to happen,” Kim Tae-hyung said of Choi’s switch to the batting order at the end of the final camp, adding, “Coach Kim Hyun-wook, who was with the national team, told me. I think he threw different pitches with his sore arm and felt that he was fine.”
Athletes who are labeled as ‘healthy’ end up not performing to their full potential. 토토사이트 Repeated injuries become a skill. Choi Jun-yong was also stressed at this point and seriously considered switching to a batting position.
But now, he has put his wanderings behind him and is back to work. He will continue to work on the things he learned from the APBC and establish himself as a reliable member of coach Kim Tae-hyung’s pitching staff.