It’s a story of three players. They went through ups and downs on and off the field. They were affected by their performance. Let’s see how they feel and accept in their place as they strive to become the best players. We also have a lot to learn from our ever-changing lives.메이저놀이터
Catcher Kang Baek-ho. I was surprised by the announcement by the coach of my team that he will suddenly change his position to catcher after the start of this season, but my curiosity grew as there was no interview with the player himself. It was not enough to hear from the commentary from the field leader. It was because it was the interpretation of the coach who delivered the message, not the player who was directly involved. For me, who is studying the relationship between players’ psychology and team culture, I seemed to be surrounded by a curtain.
“A key player in a team with strong ego like Kang changes positions during the season, not during the camp?” That is not unusual. But he does not have his own voice, right? I also learned what happened through the public relations team. Earlier, I was informed that he is not participating in media due to his psychological wanderlust due to various issues. So I was saddened and worried.
Then one day in early April, after finishing his first start as a catcher (his sixth appearance as a catcher since his professional debut), Kang finally meets the media in person. During his workday, when he opened his mouth to reporters after a long time, he said, “It’s fun and interesting.” In his most recent interview, he said, “I was so immersed in the game that I could hardly believe it.”
“Fun and immersion.” These are strong keywords. My doubts about the team’s position change have decreased, and I was a little relieved. I think the process of his choice (also a team’s choice) that could be reckless or groundbreaking is encapsulated in two key words: Kang’s new interest in baseball, the concentration that he developed through it, and the sense of responsibility. “Baseball player” Kang Baek-ho is back.
“As a defender, I always played with conviction. However, (after Tuchel’s criticism), there were many moments when I hesitated during the game. I was not able to play with confidence.”
This is part of a recent interview with a local media in Germany by Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich). As one of my fans, I was sad. I thought that even his thoughts seemed powerless, just like his play, which was shrinking and shrinking. I would like to tell Kim two things that I found in the interview. One is the issue of fixing the frame to negative feedback, and the other is the courage to admit it honestly.
People tend to pay more attention to negative aspects. Negative bias is a characteristic of human psychology. Kim was verbally attacked on the spot a lot. This is why feedback such as “You shouldn’t do it” is bad. It doesn’t lead to improvement and development in the way “Let’s do this.” It makes you passive. What made me hesitate was that frame work.
What is Kim’s strength? Finding a way to effectively utilize it through team tactics and teamwork with teammates is a positive solution. Kim also didn’t make an excuse, as it would not have been easy to admit his poor performance. Such courage is the stepping stone to start over.
Noh Si-hwan (Hanwha Eagles) made headlines for a while. His black stockings were knee-high shorts. Some said he might imitate Major League Baseball (MLB). In fact, Noh confessed, “He was so sluggish that he borrowed Kim Tae-yeon’s pants.”
You may feel like you are temporarily changing the atmosphere. But it’s just a jinx. It’s like a consumable. It’s not easy to follow your own process. Noh immediately realizes it. “But it doesn’t mean that there is no hit, so I thought, ‘What’s wrong with my pants?’ He says, “I immediately wore them with my pants.” What did Noh want to gain, not other people’s pants? He seems to have asked himself, and he also understood the answer.
We suffer from psychological panic and live our lives through waves of criticism. We sometimes pause for a moment or go the wrong way. However, when we look for “where I really am,” we see a path. Three players find common questions on different paths.
Kim Jong-moon was a former reporter of JoongAng Ilbo and served as the front desk of the NC Dinos baseball team from 2011 to 2021. He became the general manager of the “last place” team in late 2018 and became the first team to win the title two years later. He is currently the Korea Coach Association’s certified coach.