[마이데일리 = 투손(미국 애리조나주) 김진성 기자] “It’s like watching (Kang) Baekho swing.”
Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona, USA, where KT held its spring camp. KT has joined a large number of young players with potential in this camp. Among them, the most prominent players are left-handed outfielder Choi Seong-min (21), nominated in the 2nd 6th round in 2021, right-handed left-handed infielder Son Min-seok (19), nominated in the 30th place in the 3rd round in 2023, and 2019 2nd 6th round 51st. Kang Min-seong (24), the chosen right-handed infielder.
After taking over as head coach Lee Kang-cheol, KT has firmly established itself as a ‘sustainable strong team’. Through recruitment and trade of free agents, the power was naturally retooled, and it came to fruition by winning the 2021 pennant race and the Korean Series. However, in this process, as the existing cores get older, we need to see the point in time to prepare for another rebuild.
Overseas spring camp held again after 3 years. A new hope arises in the wizard team. The most noteworthy player within the club is Choi Seong-min, a left-handed outfielder who also graduated from Dongsung High School in Gwangju. He boasts a sharp swing enough to be called the second Kang Baek-ho. It also caught the attention of director Lee Kang-cheol.
Director Lee said of Choi Seong-min, “It’s like watching Kang Baek-ho’s swing.” Choi Seong-min said, “As it is my first camp, I will focus only on baseball and try to do my best. First-team players seem to have their own routines and workout plans, so I’m trying to make one too. He is as confident in batting and defense as he is, so he improved his off-season condition faster than others and is working hard to show at camp.”
Son Min-seok is an infielder who graduated from Gyeongnam High School. Despite his skinny body, his strong arm from last year’s finish camp drew Lee’s acclaim and came all the way to Tucson. Son Min-seok said, ”All of them are seniors who are good at baseball, so it’s amazing and fun to train together. The goal is to learn the know-how of how seniors in the first team play baseball. My strength is that I have a good shoulder and good contact when hitting. Seniors (Park) Kyungsoo and (Kim) Sangsoo approached me first and told me to be active and talk a lot rather than being introverted at the baseball field and participate in training with an active attitude. .
Kang Min-seong is an infielder who graduated from Gyeongbuk High School. As soon as coach Lee took office in 2019, he was a player who immediately joined the Kaohsiung finishing camp. Although he has yet to debut in the first team, his potential is said to be limitless. He said, “I did a lot of weight training in the off-season and developed the stamina to last a season. He did technical training in high school, preparing for his first first-team camp after his 2019 debut.”
Receive the favor of seniors. Kang Min-seong said, “In this camp, even if I didn’t ask first, senior Jae-gyun came first and gave advice on handling and steps when defending, and senior Byeong-ho explained the hitting mechanism (leg part) and how to get the timing right. Also, thank you to senior high school senior Sang Sang for explaining and taking care of the attitude outside the baseball field.”
I have a specific plan. Kang Min-seong said, “The goal is to catch the details in defense. He is confident in his power in hitting. He is learning how to work hard, and he will be seeing the pitcher’s ball in a practice game two years after being discharged, so I’m excited and curious about whether the changes I made will work well. He wants to prepare well.”
[위에서부터 최성민, 손민석, 강민성. 사진 = KT 위즈 제공]
Tucson (Arizona, USA) = Reporter Kim Jin-seong [email protected]
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