“I had a lot of thoughts” A
[Reporter Lee Jong-seo of Sports Chosun] “For our team to become better…”
Lee Ji-young (37, Kiwoom Heroes) played the second most innings as a catcher in the league last year. Kang-Nam Yoo was the only one to break through 1000 innings (1008⅓ innings), while Ji-Young Lee kept the home for 994⅔ innings. Except for Yoo Kang-nam, Lee Ji-young is the only player to break 900 innings.
Ji-young Lee’s burden became even heavier as Park Dong-won, who kept the home together, was traded to the KIA Tigers during the season. Lee Ji-young perfectly played her role as the main catcher, stably coordinating with the pitchers. Kiwoom, who was expected to have a hard time even in the 5th round before the season, achieved the result of finishing runner-up in the Korean Series.
He has played the most games since making his first appearance in the first team in 2009, but there was no time to rest. After 15 years of joining the team, he participated in the game as a national team member of the WBC (World Baseball Classic), wearing the Taegeuk mark.
He returned to Korea on the 14th and joined the team training immediately on the 15th. It was a tighter schedule than other players, but Lee Ji-young said, “I’m fine. Everyone said it wouldn’t be hard. Last year was fun, and I think I’ll be able to run that much this year too.” I made it. My physical condition has improved, so it is rather helpful in that area.”
Jeeyoung Lee is expected to be busy during the demonstration game. As he was less able to work with the pitchers during spring camp than before, he plans to actively catch the ball from the bullpen pitching. Lee Ji-young said, “I didn’t catch a lot of pitchers’ balls when I went to the WBC, but I plan to catch a lot of pitchers’ balls and talk about it.”
As the expected pitcher, Jang Jae-young, who is challenging as a starting pitcher, was selected. Jang Jae-young, who joined Kiwoom as the first pick for the 2021 rookie draft, throws a fast ball in the mid-150 km range, but has not been able to settle down due to hunting for the first ball. However, while showing off more stable control this season, in the KT Wiz match on the 13th, he had a good fight with no hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts and no runs in 2 innings.메이저사이트
Lee Ji-young looked at him, “(Jang) Jae-young must improve for our team to succeed. There are many veteran pitchers on our team, so if we block well from the front and throw well from the back, I think we will be in a better position than last year.”
He continued, “I don’t tell Jae-young a lot of stories. However, he had a lot of thoughts on the mound. In this case, don’t think about it and throw a lot of your things. Rather than being technical, I talked a lot about getting rid of thoughts.”
After finishing this season, he gets his second FA qualification. After completing the 2019 season, Lee Ji-young obtained his first FA qualification and signed a three-year contract with Kiwoom for a total of 1.8 billion won. Lee Ji-young said, “I haven’t even started yet, but it doesn’t make sense to think of free agency. I’m trying to do my best. I don’t even have a personal goal. My only goal is to get better results than last year. And I’ve won a real championship. It’s the wish,” he stressed.