In the World Baseball Classic (WBC) to be held in March, Korea faces Japan in the first round. Head coach Hideki Kuriyama of the Japanese national team inspected the KBO League playoffs between the LG Twins and Kiwoom Heroes in October last year. At that time, coach Kuriyama said he was wary of LG’s setup man Jung Woo-young. In the background, there was a word from the 2nd WBC winning coach.메이저놀이터

Coach Kuriyama received this advice in a conversation with Tatsunori Hara, Yomiuri Giants coach, who led the Japanese national team 14 years ago as part of a TV program.

“In short-term games, you shouldn’t be a hitter who is afraid of the ball coming toward you. You can’t hit it if you get sloppy against a fast-moving ball from a pitcher you’re meeting for the first time. That’s why a hitter who can always get into the plate without fear, especially a right-handed hitter, was essential. .”

Hearing that story, Manager Kuriyama understood what Manager Hara was thinking, and on the contrary, from the batter’s point of view, he imagined what kind of pitcher he would hate. The pitcher I saw in person in such a situation was Jung Woo-young.

Jung Woo-young is 1m93 tall and is a tall right-handed sidearm pitcher. In the case of Jung Woo-young, who has two-seam fastballs more than 90% of his pitches, he gives the feeling that the ball is coming to his side as he is the first right-handed hitter he meets. The biggest advantage is that the two-seam speed range is around 150km. Coach Kuriyama saw Jung Woo-young’s pitching and said, “It’s scary to pitchers who don’t know where the ball will come.” In those words, there was also a concern about the ball that fit the body.

Last season, Jung Woo-young gave 6 four balls. Everyone was a right-handed hitter. The catcher asked for his body and was hit only twice, and in the remaining four, the catcher’s mitt was on the outside, but the ball went the opposite way. Jung Woo-young can be described as “a pitcher who doesn’t know where the ball will come”, as coach Kuriyama put it. In fact, Jung Woo-young is not a pitcher who boasts control. Jung Woo-young himself, who I met in Tucson, Arizona, USA, where the national team is training camp, knew that.

“As a pitcher who comes out late in the game, I think it is more important to overwhelm the pitch with power than control.” Feeling sorry for the hitter who gave the ball, Jung Woo-young said, “As a result, I think it can’t be helped if the ball fits the body.”

As a pitcher, it is good to be a pitcher with good control, but in the case of Jung Woo-young, one of the duties of the national team is to do pitching that opponent batters do not like. In fact, out of the six hitters who gave Jung Woo-young four balls, two joined the national team. Choi Jeong (SSG) and Park Gun-woo (NC). In Choi Jeong’s case, a high fastball, and in Park Kun-Woo’s case, the ball he tried to throw outside missed and hit his body. It would be helpful for Jung Woo-young to ask these two batters during this training period what they would not like if the pitcher behaved as a hitter. It’s not just pitching, but there will be many things, such as the timing of throwing, the gaze and attitude of the batter from the mound.

Checking team play and practice games are important in camp training, but exchange of opinions between players cannot be ignored. One consciousness that arose at such a time would influence the outcome.