“If you do it alone, (your skills) won’t improve. Bring the ball.”

As always, a surprise guest came to the rookie who went to the stadium early and was training at the indoor batting arena. The surprise guest who corrected the rookie’s batting posture took a seat in front of the ball basket and helped with training by placing the ball on the tee bar. Every time he hit each ball, he gave advice on his posture.

The surprise guest was Kang Baek-ho (24). In front of him, who usually goes to work early, rookie Jung Joon-yeong (19스포츠토토) was playing tea-batting alone. 

It didn’t mean much. Kang Baek-ho was proud of being a rookie training alone, but he didn’t feel down, and he said that he approached him after thinking about his rookie days. Kang Baek-ho looked back, saying, “(Jung) Jun-yeong has been working hard since early hours.” 

However, it was a precious time for a rookie who had just made his professional debut. Jung Joon-young, who looked back on the situation the previous day (18th), said, “It was rewarding to come to the stadium early. He listened to (Kang) Baekho hyung’s advice and hit, and it definitely seems to have improved.” 

Jung Joon-young said, “Most of the seniors had a big age difference, so it was difficult to approach, but (Kang) Baek-ho hyung approached me first and gave me a lot of advice and know-how.” He gave me a bat and glove as a gift to do well. Thank you very much.” He smiled widely. 

Rookie Jung Joon-young goes to work two hours before training every day and devotes himself to personal training. However, he said that there are seniors who come earlier than he or around the same time every time. It was Park Byeong-ho (38) and Kang Baek-ho, who competed for first and second place in commuting time. Although they are players who have already dominated the league, he said that Jung Joon-young himself was determined to work harder after seeing him train earlier than anyone else. 

Although Jung Joon-young is a rookie, he received attention from head coach Lee Kang-cheol from spring camp and raised expectations. Coach Lee Kang-cheol even talked about the possibility of joining the opening roster. Although the opening entry was canceled, instead, he was called up to the first group soon after making a big success with a batting average of 0.350 (7 hits in 20 at-bats) and 6 RBIs in 5 games in the 2nd group. On the 14th, he also hit the first hit in his debut against the Hanwha Eagles. 

Jung Joon-young said, “I definitely felt the difference in level (in the pro). However, he said, the impatience disappeared a little thanks to the coaches who made it easy for him by saying, ‘Nothing to point out technically, don’t think of yourself as a professional, just do it like you did in high school.’ He said, “Rather than trying to do well, I want to spend the first season making up for my shortcomings one by one. I want to become a player who quickly establishes himself in the team within a few years as I gradually establish my mindset in the first team.” 

Was it because of the valuable advice and sincerity of seniors? On the 19th against SSG Landers in Suwon, Jung Joon-young played as a center fielder and prevented the team from losing a goal with a fantastic diving catch in the 9th inning, clearly imprinting his presence in front of the fans.