He is an 18-year veteran who joined the KBO in 2006. This is the kind of experience that allows you to judge and feel the air flowing through the KBO league without anyone explaining it to you. Veterans have broadened their horizons and deepened their perspectives, but it’s another matter when they have to leave their existing environment and put on a new uniform. Veteran players also have “new home” questions.굿모닝토토 주소
Choi Joo-hwan, 35, who joined Kiwoom from SSG with the No. 1 overall pick in the second round of the draft on May 22, had to make sure he was ready for his new surroundings while trying to embrace the changes that came with joining his third professional team as positively as possible.
He sought advice from acquaintances who knew the culture of the Kiwoom Heroes. Choi shared some of it in a phone interview with a reporter on the first of this month. “They told me a lot of things like, ‘It’s going to be a place where you can play the kind of baseball you want to play,'” he said. “It’s hard to put my finger on it, but it sounded like they wanted me to stick to the ‘basics’ and let it all hang out in baseball.”
Choi sounded hastily collected. The news that he could be selected just before the second round of the draft may have given him a head start. There were reportedly three or four teams that wanted to take him with the first pick after he was removed from the second round of the draft.
Choi said, “I’m thinking of it as a chance to redeem myself. I think the club (SSG) also made a decision based on the mood. I tried to think of it in the best possible light.”
Choi is even more motivated to prepare for the new season. This is because of the message from Kiwoom. When Choi went to say hello to Kiwoom head coach Hong Won-ki, he felt the team atmosphere he had only guessed at. “He told me, ‘We will create an environment where you can focus on baseball,'” he said, adding that he was also told the specifics of the training program.
Regardless of the transfer, Choi Joo-hwan started his personal training earlier than usual. Choi has already been working on his body with PT (personal training) since the 11th of last month. “As I build my body and feel ready, I will start technical training,” he said.
Choi’s value to Kiwoom could be even greater than his value to SSG. Kiwoom struggled to break through offensively last season as the team’s home run total plummeted. They ranked last overall with 61 team home runs. The season before, they managed 94 team home runs (ninth), but their team home runs plummeted due to the foreign hitter variable.
Choi Joo-hwan is a left-handed hitter with a ‘one-hitter’. He struggled with his batting average (.235) this season due to an increase in foul balls being hit half a beat faster, but his 20 home runs were tied for sixth in the league. In a home run-hungry Kiwoom, each home run could go a long way.
He can also be a big part of the team’s offense, filling the void left by Lee Jeong-hoo, who has been posted to the major leagues. In addition to Choi, Kiwoom is counting on new resources like Lee Ju-hyung, who was acquired from LG last summer in exchange for Choi Won-tae, to rebound the team’s batting next season.
Choi Joo-hwan said, “There’s nothing special about the 72-game home stadium, Gocheok-dome, other than getting used to it better. We will prepare better with the same mindset. I will reciprocate.”