The training was conducted by former manager Kim Seong-geun of the “yasin” team and was well-known for its strictness. Players can hardly breathe and play pungo (ground ball that is thrown for defensive training) to keep their spirits at bay. It was also a kind of mental test.메이저놀이터
Choi Jung (37, SSG Landers) showed his grit on the ground, and manager Kim Sung-geun even spoke out. Kim, who took the helm of the SK Wyverns (currently SSG) in October 2006 and coached Choi Jung at the closing camp, was impressed by the young player who looked at him with a spiteful expression without showing hard feelings even though he played 1,000 pungos and 1,000 free bets every day. Kim also recalled that Choi Jung was the only one who performed 100 percent of his training among his numerous disciples.
Choi Jeong-eun, a “poisonous” recognized by Yasin, has grown every season. She has been reborn as a big gun representing the league by maintaining her consistent good skills. She has also won the title of home run king three times in the meantime.
Choi Jeong made a new home run history against the Lotte Giants in Busan on the 24th. In the top of the fifth inning with two outs and no runners, he hit a solo home run over the left wall by targeting opposing pitcher Lee In-bok’s first pitch slider. It was his 10th home run in the 2024 season and 468th in his career. It was the moment when Choi Jeong surpassed “national hitter” Lee Seung-yeop (467 current manager of the Doosan Bears) as the sole home run player in the KBO League.
Baseball fans regard Choi Jeong, who is naturally strong and physically strong, as a “genius-type” player. On the other hand, his teammates who have known him for a long time are confident that he is a “effort-type” player. “(Choi) Jung is still a person who turns the bat more to get rid of the tension before playing in games,” said Kim Kwang-hyun, an ace player at SSG who has been a teammate since 2007.
In fact, Choi did not consider himself an effort-driven player. “I think other players put in more effort than I do,” Choi told reporters after the match against Lotte on Monday. “I just have a big desire to do well if there is something interesting. When I was training with manager Kim Seong-geun, I thought, “I can also play defense technically,” and even when I am physically challenged, I can feel my skills improve as I work harder, so I did not say, “I am tired.” The same applies to hitting.”
Choi also positively accepts objectively uncomfortable training sessions. Choi said, “Some of the hitting, defense, and baserunning are not fun. I try to find new fun in them no matter what. When I feel my improvement, I feel better and wanted to play the next game as soon as possible.”
Choi Jong-un seems to think of what people call “effort” as just “an act of doing because he likes it.” The source of grit and self-indulgence that manager Kim Sung-geun recognized was deeper than anyone else’s “love of baseball.”
Choi plans to find new joy in the rest of his career. Previously, the most important thing was to maintain good performance. That’s why his goal to record was to hit double-digit home runs every season.
He is now moving toward a career-high 500 home runs. “I haven’t set a goal of becoming the home run king or ‘hitting a few’ this season right now. Still, I’m going to change my mind a little bit now. I have set a bigger goal than before. I want to hit 500 home runs in my career. I don’t think I will make it easy. I just feel like I can do it,” he said with a smile.