“I’m going to the U.S. today”… Kookmin and the 18,000-gu special offer are very satisfying, but why?
“I’m going to the United States today (the 25th).”
Doosan Bears outfielder Kim Jae-hwan (35) visited Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 25th to fulfill his promise to meet with fans at the ‘2023 Bears Gathering’.
As soon as he finished signing autographs, he had to pack a month’s worth of luggage and board a plane to the United States.
He decided to continue his personal training in the United States for another month.
It was a tight schedule to make the flight, but he did find time to thank his fans for their support throughout the season.
Kim actually didn’t have much to applaud this year, batting just .220 (89-for-405) with 10 home runs, 46 RBIs, and a .674 OPS in 132 games.
It was his lowest batting average and fewest home runs and RBIs since making the jump to the leadoff spot in 2016.
He also lost his title as Doosan’s No. 4 hitter and struggled in many ways.
“It was a tough season from top to bottom,” Kim said.
I feel very sorry for the Doosan fans for my poor performance this season.
I’m also sorry for myself,” he said, reflecting on the year.
The first step to get out of the slump came in the final camp.
Doosan head coach Lee Seung-yeop first offered Jae-hwan “one-on-one training,” and Jae-hwan gladly accepted the special lecture by Lee, who was called the “national hitter” during his playing days. 토토
The camp lasted for nearly a month, from March 31 to April 23, and Jae-hwan trained with Lee for two hours every day, hitting about 500 pitches.
“I must have hit about 18,000 balls in three weeks,” he says, laughing.
Reflecting on his training with Jae-hwan, Lee said, “I think there was definitely a change.
About 19 times, (Kim) Jae-hwan wore the uniform and participated in the closing drills, and I can definitely feel the improvement.
It’s not a guarantee that his performance will improve just because he was tee-batting.
One and a half to two hours of man-to-man training with the bat is really tiring and hard, but Jae-hwan handled it well,” he said.
“He knew what he was doing.
As the season went on and he got older and his performance got worse, I think he was practicing too many different ways.
I think he didn’t get to the point.
Before we went to camp, I told him to trust me.
I don’t know if she relied on me or pretended to (laughs), but we got to know each other better during the final camp.
We talked about our worries and how to improve.
As a coach, I’m really grateful that Jae-hwan participated.
He was dying of exhaustion, but he practiced a lot.
It’s not all about the amount of practice, but the body has to remember first to change bad habits into good ones.
I’m sure I erased all the bad thoughts in my head,” he added.
Kim Jae-hwan first expressed his gratitude to Lee.
He said, “I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for coaching me for a month in Icheon.
In the 15 or 16 years I’ve been playing baseball, I’ve never practiced alone with him, maybe once or twice, but never for a month. It was an honor to be treated like that.
All I can say is thank you.
As I practiced, I felt good and confident.
I feel good, I feel confident, and the coach says it’s good, and I can feel his sincerity, so I had a good time in that sense,” he said.
He plans to whip himself even more this winter so that the 18,000 balls don’t go to waste.
He plans to continue his personal training in the U.S. so that he can improve based on the training with Lee.
“I had a good and fruitful time with the coach.
It was only for three weeks, but I was injured for almost a year, so I hit seven boxes of balls on the first day (laughs).
During the training, I felt a lot of things like, ‘Oh, I used to practice like this.
It was a time when I realized again that I practiced in this direction and with this feeling.
You can never be too sure, and it feels really good.
I’ve gained a lot of confidence, and it’s a long way off to be saying this now, and I’m trying to be comfortable with that because there’s going to be trial and error.”
He vowed to do his best to come back from the training camp in the U.S. and hit like Kim Jae-hwan next year.
“I think I can say that I feel good because I practiced in a good way rather than thinking that I will get better because I practiced a lot.
I think Doosan is a team that will go to the top of the standings no matter what.
It will be a season of opportunities,” he said encouragingly.
