From the ground in a foreign land to the unfamiliar challenge of ‘two swords’. Kiwoom Heroes right-hander Jang Jae-young (21) prepared for the season was special.
Jang Jae-young, who joined Kiwoom after receiving a down payment of 900 million won as the first nomination in 2021, has yet to properly settle down on the professional stage. Velocity over 150 km was not a problem. The ball was not zeroed. In 33 games of his professional career, he threw 31 2/3 innings and allowed 31 walks. If you can’t control yourself, you can’t get good grades. He had an 8.53 earned run average.
Ahead of this season, I had a new challenge. 온라인카지노The first was to play for Geelong Korea in the Australian League.
The result was successful. He pitched 30 innings in 6 games and had a 3.30 earned run average. He allowed 4 homers and 6 walks, but struck out 37 while walking 9.
Having an interview after the exhibition game with the LG Twins on the 25th, he said, “It was very difficult, but I tried to learn a lot. He naturally thought it would be difficult, and he gained a lot as well,” he said, looking back on his time in Australia.
Australian baseball was different from Korea. He said, “The strike zone and battering tendency were different. Here he becomes the ball, but there are many balls that become strikes. Korean players know that I am not good at pitching, so they try to avoid the first pitch, but the Australian batters hit aggressively,” he said about the difference.
Because of these differences, he said, “what was done in Geelong was done in Geelong.” Why do you say that you have gained a lot? He also said this.
“The good thing there was that I was able to lead a lot of innings while trying to put in a lot of strikes. I gained confidence in my ball. I got it even though it was right. I knew it was right because I threw it on this course, so I tried throwing it on other courses as well. The zone was wide, so I was able to use it.”
The strike zone is different, but the confidence on the ball has definitely been gained. He said that the encouragement of coach Lee Byeong-gyu and other coaching staff was a great help. He stressed that if another pitcher is contemplating joining Geelong Korea, “I will definitely recommend it.”
Working as a pitcher was another experience. Coach Hong Won-ki appointed him as a pitcher during the demonstration game, “At first, it was for the purpose of refreshing the atmosphere, but because he has talent in defense and offense, he did not want to focus only on pitching.” He mentioned that Jang Jae-young was a shortstop for the youth team and praised him, saying, “Your baseball sense is excellent.”
Jang Jae-young said, “He tried to reflect the emotions he could feel in the plate to the pitcher,” and conveyed his thoughts when he entered the plate.
It seemed like a rather risky challenge, but as a result, it served as an opportunity to develop an eye for baseball for Jang Jae-young.
He said, “I thought that the first ball would not be hit regardless of whether the restraint was 140 or 150. I made up my mind to hit the first ball when it came to the middle, but there weren’t many balls coming in to catch the count. He felt a lot of thought on the count down here. He thought, ‘Even if a strike comes, it won’t be easy to hit.’ In the count that is advantageous to the pitcher, the batter has a lot of thoughts, and I felt that the pitcher had an advantage.”
He revealed that he is still practicing batting. There, he felt that ‘I can’t even hit the ball that was thrown to hit me, so there’s no need to be intimidated’.
This thought was also revealed in the contents of the game during the demonstration game. In the game on the 25th, he recorded 4 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts and 2 runs in 4 innings. He learned and felt a lot by playing simple fastballs even with favorable counts,” he said.
He said, “I am grateful that he gave me this opportunity because it was his consideration for me after all. He was excited and fun while feeling tension in defense and hitting. I fell more into the fun of baseball,” he said, thanking the team for giving him a new opportunity.
To Jaeyoung Jang, what kind of person is Shohei Ohtani, a two-time pitcher? He commented that he was “like a cartoon character.” “It may be difficult for Ohtani, but he seemed to enjoy playing baseball itself amidst a lot of interest. I also thought that I wanted to play baseball with interest and enjoyment.”
Instead of Ohtani, who is far away, he chose Ahn Woo-jin, a senior who lives in the same clubhouse, as his role model. He said, “A good older brother is taking good care of me in a close place,” and revealed that he is trying to learn the mental side of An Woo-jin.
Ahn Woo-jin, a senior he admires, has built up confidence since his professional debut, increased his speed more than in his rookie days, and rose to the ranks of pitchers representing the league. If you continue to follow that path, Jaeyoung Jang may be in that position at some point.
He said, “I want to become a good pitcher by learning year after year. He doesn’t have a lot of greed,” he said, strengthening his will to take one step at a time rather than looking at a high place right away.