The pitching staff of Lotte Giants made Kim Tae-hyung satisfied. During the preparation period for the spring camp, Kim smiled, saying, “The pitching staff’s entry is tight.” This means that someone should be excluded from the first team roster, but he left a deep impression on Kim with talent and capability.
Nonetheless, players in the must-win group already chose the team. Kim Won-joong, the closing crew, Koo Seung-min and Kim Sang-soo, the backup Park Jin-hyung, and Choi Jun-yong (23), who had a batting turnaround event at the end of last year, vowed to form a must-win group.유흥알바
Choi joined the team with the first nomination in 2020, and has started to show his presence in the first team with a straightforward approach. In 2021, he recorded 20 holds, and in 2022, he took over the temporary closing position due to Kim Won-joong’s injury, recording 14 saves and six holds.
Last year, however, Choi was at a loss. He had pain in several areas, including his back, shoulder, and elbow. All of them were related to pitching motion. In 2021, he underwent surgery for a ruptured rotator cuff on his right shoulder, and suffered from major and minor pain throughout his career. Although he had two wins, three losses and 14 holds with an ERA of 2.45 in 47 games last year, he could not afford to play in the first division for much time.
Then, he took the bat during the closing camp. He challenged himself to become a fielder. He was physically and mentally exhausted due to frequent injuries, and anxiety and agony over whether he could continue his career as a pitcher led him to switch to a batter.
Manager Kim Tae-hyung watched Choi Jun-yong’s turn to the field from a distance. However, he never forgot about “pitcher Choi Jun-yong” even when Choi grabbed the bat and was given a pongo as an infielder. He considered the power of Choi’s ball and the time he had to invest and waste again when converting to a batter. While continuing his challenge as a batter, he participated in the Asian Baseball Championship (APBC) and displayed his power by throwing a fastball over 150 kilometers on the mound in Tokyo Dome. Finally, Choi Jun-yong’s turn to the batter ended with a happening.
Choi Jun-yong said, “The manager said, ‘Don’t wear baseball gloves,’ so I said okay. And he told the coaches and the national team, ‘What kind of batter are you when you throw such a ball?’ and I was persuaded that I should be a pitcher,” he said. “The team also informed me of my value as a pitcher and told me to prepare again so that I wouldn’t get sick, so I made a commitment as a pitcher again.”
The confidence gained from the time he spent with the APBC national team also gave him more confidence as a pitcher. “Coach Ryu Joong-il also advised me, ‘Wouldn’t it be a waste if I gave up now? It will take time even if I play field, can you take responsibility?'” he said.
“I saw what kind of training and how to prepare while playing baseball with players who said they were good at it. It was an opportunity to grow further because I saw Japanese and Taiwanese players,” he said. “I felt like I couldn’t get my ball when I was competing with Japanese batters, so I gained a lot of confidence after that game. I think I can do well based on that confidence.”
After all, he is going back to his best days of 2021, when he was 20 years old. As a 20-year-old in 2021, however, he had no difficulties. He returned from surgery on his shoulder in the second half, but he had four wins, two losses, one save and 20 holds in 44 games. He had two wins, one save, and 13 holds in the second half, and set a non-authentic record in 23 consecutive games. In 2021, Choi ranked first with an average fastball speed of 146.5 kilometers, 28.2 centimeters up and down movements, and 2,506.9 revolutions per minute. Despite frequent injuries, however, Choi only posted a fastball speed of 145.1 kilometers, a top-down movement of 25.7 centimeters, and a speed of 2314.3 revolutions per minute last year. Most of the indicators have declined.
It is important to sprinkle your balls while relieving injury. Only then will I be able to go back to my 20-year-old days. I will focus more on myself as a pitcher and go back to my best days. “I think I’m going to start all over again. Now that I’ve only started pitching again, I’ve been practicing basic skills step by step, going back to how I was at 20. I prepared a lot of pitches focusing on the lower body without throwing too hard,” he said.
To control injury and pain, pitching form is changing to one that puts less strain on the shoulders, and we have prepared to put on more weight while supporting the joints. “I ate a lot of chicken breasts, managed my diet, and did weight training hard. As I gained weight and muscle mass, I think my body is light and healthy,” Choi said. “I am right that I gained weight due to concerns about injury. I thought that if I strengthen my muscle, I will support and hold my body well.”
“I felt my physical strength improved as I exercised for two hours every five to six days a week during the off-season. I also felt a definite change in functionality. I think I have improved a lot functionally,” he added.
At a spring camp practice match in Okinawa, Japan, Choi is gradually gaining zero points. In the first match against Chiba Lotte on Monday, Choi had two hits, one walk and two runs in the ⅓ innings, but he has regained stability by allowing three hits and no run in the first ⅓ of the match against Samsung on Thursday, and two strikeouts and no run in the first inning against KIA on Sunday.
He knows better that he should not be sick anymore. “I need to be sick so that the season can be operated according to the manager’s scenario. I need to be a pitcher who can play at any time,” he said. “I want to throw the ball as much as I can for a season without getting sick because I have to go to the fall baseball this year to reach my dream of winning.”