Hope Blooming in the Injury Ward, KT's Drastic Generation Change Player "Only This Year."

Hope Blooming in the Injury Ward, KT's Drastic Generation Change Player "Only This Year."

Blog Article

There is something KT Wiz coach Lee Kang-chul said even before the start of the 2025 season. It is a gradual "generational change." KT, which has struggled due to the high age group of its main players, has made up its mind and prepared for a generational change this season.카지노사이트

"It's good to have a good performance right away (by using existing key players), but if we don't give young players a chance, there may be nothing left (after the end of this season)," said Lee before the season. He hinted at a plan to proactively hire promising players for a change of generation.

Opportunities came quickly. As key players including Heo Kyung-min (35), Kim Sang-soo (35), Kang Baek-ho (26) and Bae Jeong-dae (30) and Mel Rojas Jr. (35) continued to suffer line-up injuries, Lee Kang-chul showed a winning move. He boldly hired young players, including outfielder Ahn Hyun-min (22), who had only 16 first-team experiences until last year, as the starting hitter, and infielder Kwon Dong-jin (27), who was discharged last year, and Park Min-seok (25), who had only 27 first-team experiences, in the starting lineup.

The winning move was a success. Ahn played in 18 games this year, hitting a batting average of 0.354 (23 hits in 65 at-bats) and seven homers and 21 RBIs, and settled in the central lineup. Having ranked No. 1 in the home run league (seven) in May, Ahn became No. 1 in homers and No. 2 in RBIs (No. 1 Jang Sung-woo, 22), without playing half of the games his team played (47 games).

Kwon's performance is also encouraging. Having taken over as the main shortstop position for Kim Sang-soo, who was sidelined due to injury in late April, Kwon showed good performance with a batting average of 0.318 (27 hits in 45 times at bat) in 33 games. After being discharged from the military last year, Kwon had high expectations due to his accurate contact ability and fast feet, but he has been at the center of generational change in the KT infield, which inevitably will be reorganized due to transfer of Shim Woo-joon (Hanwha Eagles) this year.

In the game against the LG Twins on the 17th, infielder Park Min-seok impressed the manager. He made a surprise start as a shortstop in the first game of the doubleheader, which was physically depleted, and led the team to a 12-4 victory by swinging four hits, one RBI and three runs from five times at bat. He showed perfect performance in attack, defense and baserunning until he scored a wedge following a timely triple and a leadoff double. Park Min-seok also started in the second game of the doubleheader and the next day (18th) and received an opportunity.

Amid the continued performance of young players, KT is also gaining strength little by little as players who have been sluggish return. As Ahn Hyun-min joined the center batting line, Kang Baek-ho, who recovered from fine damage to the external oblique muscles, and Jang Sung-woo, a catcher who was sluggish with a batting average in his 20s, relieved the burden. Kim Sang-soo, who was injured last weekend due to damage to his radiating muscles, returned to the center of the young infield team consisting of Park Min-seok and Kwon Dong-jin.

Coach Lee Kang-chul said, "I only talked about Ahn Hyun-min recently, but since Ahn Hyun-min's batting order, several batters, including Jang Sung-woo, have been revived, creating synergy effects. As veteran batters respond to the outstanding performances of young players, the weight of the lineup is improving."