“I think I’ll do really well next year.”
The phrase that Lee Seung-jin (27, Doosan Bears) follows every year is “Empty your thoughts.” It was said that baseball passion was the best. During the spring camp, during break time, he spent time shadow pitching in a corner of the hotel hallway, and he was called a “baseball crazy player” by people around him.
The problem is that there are many thoughts even on the mound. I had a lot of thoughts, even the process of throwing the ball, so I couldn’t come up with a 100% performance. Lotte pitching coach Bae Young-soo, who served as Doosan’s bullpen coach this year, pointed out to Lee Seung-jin, “Don’t think about it, just throw the ball.”
This season, Lee Seung-jin only pitched 31⅓ innings in 35 games. He appeared in 47 games last year and recorded an average ERA of 3.91 in 48⅓ innings. Still, there were results. Lee Seung-jin said, “This season, I tried to empty my thoughts and play baseball. Last year, I was alone in many thoughts and there were many bad cases. This year, I did not think deeply and tried to focus on baseball itself. Relax and watch the catcher’s mitt. I just wanted to throw hard. Before that, I had less thought about the process.”
Regarding the fact that he tried what he could, Lee Seung-jin said, “The grades are not good, but I feel less regret than last year.” 메이저놀이터
However, he regretted breaking up with Coach Bae, who had a lot of affection for him. Coach Bae laid the foundation to raise the 13 hold by giving Lee Seung-jin intensive training last year in the second group. Coach Bae left as Lotte pitching coach after this season. Lee Seung-jin said, “I was the first coach I met when I was hired as a coach. I was really upset, but thanks to you I was able to learn a lot. It’s a pity that you went to Lotte.”
He, who had been sweating in the finish camp with his regretful heart behind, showed signs of a revival little by little. In the finishing camp, all but one game went scoreless. Lee Seung-jin smiled, saying, “I wasn’t good in the last game, but I still didn’t throw absurd balls like before. I think I’ll be able to do well next year if I’m careful with walks.”
Additional weapons are also being equipped. Lee Seung-jin said, “I’ve been practicing forkball. The only pitches I could throw properly were the fastball and the curveball. It was difficult because of that. Intermediate pitchers say that only two pitches are needed, but it was enough when the velocity came out, but the pitch dropped a lot. It was difficult because there was no deciding ball in Bonnie’s advantageous count. I am practicing a lot because I want to be competitive enough with the speed I have now if I add just one decisive ball.”