Pitcher Kim Gun-hee (19), catcher Kim Dong-heon (19), and outfielder Song Jae-seon (23), who were nominated in the first round by Kiwoom Heroes in the rookie draft last year, went on a long road to enter the first team.
Kiwoom departed through Incheon International Airport on the 29th to open a spring camp in the US and Taiwan.
Kiwoom organized the participating players according to the type of training and the direction of the goals set. 40 players and coaching staff, including coach Hong Won-ki, left for the United States.
Starting from February 1st at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Arizona, the team will begin training in earnest with a three-day training schedule and a one-day rest schedule.
In the Taiwanese camp, training is focused on actual combat. Kiwoom plans to raise the sense of the game through more than 10 practice matches with the Taiwanese professional baseball team.
Among the rookie players, Kim Gun-hee, Kim Dong-heon and Song Jae-sun were named to the camp roster.
Director Hong Won-ki of Kiwoom highly evaluated their growth potential and decided to give them a chance.
The three players were full of excitement as they came to the pros and participated in the spring camp for the first time. He expressed his ambition to quickly adapt to the team and improve his skills to debut in the KBO League.
Kim Gun-hee said, “I think it’s a valuable experience. Now, I’m learning at camp, but I’ll make up for it well in the pros so that I can show good performances in first-team games.”
Kim Dong-heon said, “Since I started baseball, my goal has been to play in the first team in the KBO League. Now I’m taking my first step. It’s an honor to go to spring camp. I’ll show you how to do my best to harmonize well within the team.” .
Song Jae-seon promised, “From the moment I was nominated by Kiwoom until now, something has been happening like a dream.
The topic of director Hong Won-ki’s spring camp is infinite competition. It means that all the players will enter the competitive system except for the clear starters such as Lee Jeong-hoo, Kim Hye-seong, and Edison Russell. The same goes for pitchers and fielders. He made it clear that he would put only players whose skills have been verified beyond the value of his past name in the first team.
Kim Gun-hee picked Shohei Ohtani (LA Angels), who is a ‘two-hitter’, as his role model.
Kim Kun-hee, who called Ohtani his ‘idol’, explained, “Every time I see Ohtani’s thorough body control, I feel great. Seeing him play one game after another in the major leagues, I think it’s really great.”
Then, Kim Kun-hee said honestly, “I will learn a lot from the seniors at the spring camp. I want to talk a lot with Ahn Woo-jin in particular. I want to increase my speed and learn how to manage the game.” 메이저놀이터
Kim Dong-heon’s role model is team senior Lee Ji-young.
Kim Dong-heon said, “Ever since I started catcher, I started with senior Lee Ji-young as my role model. Such a senior was selected as the national team, and it is a great honor to join that team as catcher. I want to learn everything from senior Lee Ji-young and ask many questions. I will do my best to follow the good side of my seniors.”
Song Jae-seon said he wanted to quickly take on a role in the outfield.
Song Jae-seon said, “It would be nice if I could go to that position (outfielder) as soon as possible, but even if that doesn’t work, I want to play when the team needs it, such as large defense and large runners. I will always be the player with the dirtiest uniform. I want to become a player who has a good influence on the young players I raise.”