Can the kt rookie infield duo, who are going to Arizona with their seniors, bring a new wind to kt Wiz Park in 2023?
Directed by coach Lee Kang-cheol, kt Wiz will depart from the US spring camp on the 29th and begin full-fledged quenching for the 2023 season. The training will be held in Tucson, Arizona, USA for 33 days from February 1st to March 5th, and will return to Korea on the afternoon of March 6th, local time, and arrive in Korea on the morning of March 8th.
With a total of 52 people participating, including 12 coaching staff including coach Lee Kang-cheol, and 40 players such as Park Byeong-ho, Kang Baek-ho, and So Hyeong-jun, a training camp will be held overseas three years after the spread of Corona 19.
Coach Lee Kang-cheol called 5 out of 11 new players to this spring camp. They are pitchers Kim Jeong-un and Kim Gun-woong, infielders Son Min-seok and Ryu Hyun-in, and outfielder Jung Joon-young. All are kt’s future.
Compared to other teams, they take quite a few new players. The LG Twins, who announced the 2023 Spring Camp roster on the same day, will take one (Park Myung-geun). Coach Lee Seung-yeop’s Doosan Bears also has one (Yun Jun-ho), Hanwha Eagles has two (Kim Seo-hyun, Moon Hyun-bin), and SSG Landers has more than four (Lee Rowun, Song Young-jin, Kim Min-jun, Kim Jung-min).
Among them, two rookie infielders draw attention. They are Son Min-seok and Ryu Hyun-in. Infielder Sohn Min-seok from Gyeongnam High School was nominated in the 30th place in the 3rd round, and Ryu Hyun-in, a Dankook University graduate who made a name for himself as ‘the strongest baseball’, was nominated by KT in the 70th place in the 7th round. 슬롯사이트
For kt, strengthening the infield is one of the points this season. Shortstop Shim Woo-jun recently went to the Armed Forces Athletic Corps (Sangmu), and Park Kyung-soo is also in trouble. Oh Yoon-seok, Shin Bong-gi, and Kwon Dong-jin did their best, but it is true that they were more disappointed. Coach Lee Kang-cheol also had a hard time during the season as there were no resources to replace him. With the arrival of Kim Sang-soo from the Samsung Lions, Shim Woo-jun’s place can be filled, but it is a great benefit to the team if there is a card that can be used by even one more player in a long-term race.
Son Min-seok has already received the eye stamp of director Lee Kang-cheol at the kt finishing camp held in Iksan, Jeonbuk last November. He is said to have a strong arm for right-handed and left-handed batting.
At the time, director Lee Kang-cheol said, “He has a slim physique. The basics are well done. The bat seems to follow (Lee) Jeong-hu, but I don’t know what will happen if I gain strength. (Spring) Let’s take a camp once.”
Ryu Hyun-in, who made his name through JTBC’s ‘Strongest Baseball’, is also one of the infield prospects. He played in 24 college league games this year with a batting average of 0.438, 39 hits, 2 homers, 25 RBIs, and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 1.227. He is a promising player who received the Outstanding Hitter Award in the College Batting Division at the 2022 Baseball-Softball Night.
Ryu Hyun-in, who I met at the finish camp, said, “I am still lacking in defense. You have to practice more. (Lee Kang-cheol) The coach also said that defense and basic skills are the most important, so I am focusing on them,” he said. “I always try to have a positive mindset. He showed his motivation, saying, “I want to quickly fill up my shortcomings and go to the first team.”
Of course, going to spring camp does not guarantee opening entries and joining the first team. Naturally. They have to show everything they have at spring camp, and even the hyungs who can’t go to Arizona are sweating heavily in Korea and waiting for a call at any time.
However, it is a great honor just to have an overseas spring camp with his older brothers before his debut season. For them, every word the director says and every movement of the hyungs is a precious learning.