The novice coach achieved a combined championship after two years of taking office, and that was an unprecedented ‘wire to wire’ in the history of the KBO League (a championship that did not miss first place from the start of the regular season to the final day). However, SSG director Kim Won-hyung, who became the protagonist of that success story, was humble. “I am here because the players did well,” he said, pointing to the training ground in Vero Beach, Florida.
2 years was a challenger. 2021 was a challenger running for a return to the postseason, and 2022 was a challenger running for better results. There was not much to lose. But now it is different. Now I have become a champion who has to keep the top. Coach Kim, who had the experience of winning during his active career, is a greeting that engraved into his cells how much more he must work to keep the top spot. So he is preparing for the season more thoroughly.
Director Kim, who signed a three-year contract with SSG, was in charge of not only the immediate performance, but also the important responsibility of drawing the future. Following the problem of the bullpen that piled up right away, the gradual generational change of fielders with many veterans, and the growth of young players who will lead the future of the team, all were left in his hands. As there are many assignments, there are many questions from fans. Ahead of the end of the first camp in Florida, fans asked coach Kim sharp questions through the reporter’s SNS and e-mail. fans asked. Director Kim Won-hyung replied.스포츠토토
– I wonder how you plan to give Cho Hyeong-woo a chance to play in the first team.
– There are many good reviews about Cho Hyeong-woo. How many people will you have for the regular season catcher entry?
Director Kim Won-hyung: In fact, making a promise is not easy. The catcher is a big part of the game. First of all, the main catcher must be firmly established. Among them, you need to calculate who are number 2 and 3. In the current situation, Cho Hyeong-woo is not thinking twice, but he is thinking about 3 times. I think it is a matter to be seen later on how many opportunities will be given during the season. It is still difficult to say whether he will go with a three-man catcher system (regular season entry). The best option is a two-catcher system. However, if Cho Hyeong-woo is in good shape during the exhibition game or camp, he may go as if he entered the Korean Series entry.
– Taehyun Yoon’s octagonal angle seems to be higher than last year. Did you correct it yourself? Or was it modified based on the opinion of the coaching staff?
– I wonder how Taehyun Yoon’s appointment will be this year.
Director Kim Won-hyung: (surprised) and the fans are looking really keenly. How did you see this (laughs). He didn’t raise his octagon, but (last year) it was because the balance timing wasn’t right. When you fall, your arms come out from behind, so it feels like your arms are falling. The timing is right now, and the slider wrist angle has been raised. Then the arm appears to be raised. The coaching staff did not tell me to raise my arm. When throwing a slider, if you save your wrist, you can drag it out, so I talked about that part, but the angle of my wrist went up.
Last year, he showed good performances during the Jeju Island camp and exhibition games, and was a player in the opening entry. I can say it now, but I got corona right before the opening. So he couldn’t come to the opening. He went to the 2nd team after the corona, and then he seems to have a bad situation in the throwing part. He is throwing the ball well now. he is confident Here, he motivates himself to continue building his confidence. He casts a spell, ‘I want you to believe and throw your ball’.
When he bumps into it, he should think about what he feels. He tries to make up for something else, so it seems that he rather loses his strengths. When you hit a wall, you have to think about something else, but just because you don’t have enough breaking balls, don’t just play breaking balls. Rather, Yoon Tae-hyun had good two-seam and four-seam. He’s thinking of the bullpen in the first team. All three of them are fine, including Park Min-ho, Kim Joo-han, and Yoon Tae-hyun. Minho’s breaking ball has improved a lot, and Joohan basically has one. What (Jang) Ji-hoon did last year should be done by one of the three.
– From the coach’s point of view, does Shin Heon-min have competitiveness in the first team?
– I see it as a fighting chicken type similar to Seung-Won Moon, but I’m curious about the coach’s thoughts.
Director Kim Won-hyung: Shin Hun-min improved during the camp. He came up against Changwon NC (October 6 last year, Shin Hun-min’s first-team debut) and threw the ball, but he scored, but there was a part where his pitch was a little lacking because he was nervous. He’s thinking this year as a bullpen agent in the first team. He has good pitches and the types of pitches he has are good. It is important how many strikes he puts. He has to go down and up while taking a picture of his eyes.
It’s not necessarily Shin Hun-min’s story, but even if he plays as a bullpen in the first team, his position may be different in the second team. He sees that it is not easy for young players to develop as he only throws 25 pieces per inning in the second team. Conversely, players who were selected (from the 2nd team) believe that conversion to the bullpen is possible at any time.
– Kim Kwang-Hyun quickly raised the pace before the season. Do you have any plans to manage innings through alternative selections? If so, who is the number 1 candidate?
Manager Kim Won-hyung: Among the players here (Florida 1st team camp), there must be an alternate selection. I’m not ignoring the 2nd team players, but 22 pitchers came to the 1st team camp now, but only 13 can enter the opening game. One of the players here will make the replacement selection.
– Who do you think will be the closer?
Director Kim Won-hyung: I’m looking for it (laughs).
– The bullpen is weak, but do you have any ideas for foreign finishers?
Director Kim Won-hyung: I don’t rule it out. You can go all the way and drop one person from the selection. It is a homework to be solved during the demonstration game and the remaining camp period.
– Chanhyung Kim is discharged in June, so I wonder if he will be assigned to the first team right away. Are the third base backups still Choi Kyung-mo and Kim Seong-hyun?
Director Kim Won-hyung: You have to check your physical condition. If my body condition is good, I will prepare according to the situation. That’s all I can say in the current situation. For third base defense, Coach Son Ji-hwan has Ahn Sang-hyun, Choi Jun-woo, Choi Kyung-mo, and Kim Seong-hyun all practice.
– Will you see the SSG players in an important WBC match? I wonder if it won’t tremble.
Coach Wonhyung Kim: We will watch the game. I will cheer for you a lot (laughs). From the first tournament, I watched the WBC almost without missing out. Even though I was in Japan when I was a player in 2006, I remember watching the WBC on Japanese TV and cheering a lot.