Samsung has not been able to join the opening entry of the regular season due to shortstop Lee Jae-hyun’s injury.
However, Samsung coach Park Jin-man remains calm. There is another player who can fill the position.
The main character is Kim Young-woong.
Kim Young-woong is considered the most skillful player in the last spring camp. He has a wide and stable defense, and shows off his batting ability to hit once in a while.
Kim played in only 55 games last year. He also had a batting average of 0.187. He hit two home runs but had only 12 RBIs.
He did not show great batting ability in this exhibition game.
He only posted a batting average of 0.148 in exhibition games. However, he garnered hits in four consecutive exhibition games during exhibition games, showing glimmers of hope.
Above all, he received a high score in the most important defense as a shortstop. It is evaluated that Lee Jae-hyun can fill the gap that he is missing.
Coach Park said, “Kim Young-woong showed very good performance at the spring camp. He has improved a lot. He is the player that I look forward to the most. He is growing fast enough to see his improvement. He will be a great help to his team’s future.”
Even if the main shortstop Lee Jae-hyun returns, he is showing growth enough to form a competitive structure.
“If Kim Young-woong holds out well, I think it will be an interesting game even if Lee Jae-hyun returns,” Park said. Lee Jae-hyun is superior in batting ability, but there is not much difference in defense. Kim Young-woong also shows better performance. Shortstop said, “I will focus on defense and watch when defense is an important position.”
This is the achievement of the past two years of hell training schedule.
Coach Park Jin-man has significantly increased the amount of training he has conducted since his inauguration. He has been so harsh that he even conducted the most training sessions in Samsung’s history.
Kim Young-woong is an income generated by such training.
“Players have adapted a lot as we entered our second year of training. More and more players are laying the groundwork for their growth through lots of training. Kim Young-woong is one of them. The skills have been upgraded through intensive training. I think we will have a chance to see results this year,” Park said.
At the exhibition games, Samsung tied for sixth with four wins and six losses. However, this is not a bad figure given that the timing has come after hitting rock bottom with a lot of training.
Notably, his depth has become so thick that he doesn’t have to worry too much even though his flagship shortstop is missing. Kim Young-woong is a symbol of Samsung’s “hellish training.”
Will Samsung be able to see results from the intense training that it has continued so far? If Kim Young-woong holds out properly, he will be able to create another success story.