“There is a special effect.”
Kang Min-ho (38, Samsung Lions) shouted as he headed toward the home base after hitting a home run. These words convey confidence in how well he prepared for this spring camp.
Kang Min-ho led the team to a 6-5 victory with 2 hits, 1 RBI and 1 run in 4 at-bats, including a solo home run, in an evaluation match against SSG Landers held at Akama Ball Park in Onna-son, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan on the 6th.
3 wins in a row after 6 losses. At the end of the camp, Samsung’s atmosphere is completely revived. The veteran catcher said it was because he had undergone so much training that it was called ‘hell training’.
Samsung stayed in 7th place last season. Since 2011, he has won four consecutive combined championships, and in 2015, unfortunately, he ended the season with a runner-up in the Korean Series, and then went downhill. He failed to play fall baseball for five consecutive years, and in 2021 he wanted to rebound to second place in the regular league, but he crashed again last year.
After the season, Park Jin-man, who led the team as acting manager last year, was placed in the command tower, but he did not spend money in the free agent (FA) market. This is also the reason why there is no positive view of Samsung’s prospects this season.
You know these views better than anyone. That’s why my mindset for this camp was different. Samsung, which spends more than a month in Okinawa alone, is undergoing rigorous training throughout this period. The tiredness is clearly visible on the faces of the players.
But the results are showing. On the 4th, he caught the Yomiuri Giants, a famous Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) player, and on the 5th, the KIA Tigers, who appeared as an elite member even without a large number of key players, and on this day, won a come-from-behind victory over SSG, exciting three consecutive victories.
In particular, Kang Min-ho created a tie-breaking solo shot over the left wall against SSG pitcher Annie Romero in the top of the second inning, with the team trailing 0-1. On his way home, he drew attention with a loud cry. Regarding this, Kang Min-ho said, “To SSG coach Kim Won-hyeong, who I had learned from in the past, I expressed, ‘I think the bat came out well because I had a lot of training.’ “From then on, I have to prepare to fight the pitcher. Maybe it’s because I came to camp early and built up my body, so I don’t have any pain, and my preparation is going very well.”
Even if they are comfortable, you can read how well they are preparing for this season just by being able to confidently shout about the effectiveness of training to the opponent’s head coach. Kang Min-ho said, “We are undergoing a lot of training.”
Due to the rigorous training, the players looked physically exhausted, which led to a 6-game losing streak. However, when he overcame this, he was able to taste the sweet fruit of 3 consecutive victories. Coach Park Han-i also said that Kang Min-ho’s role in comforting his juniors with his smiling face throughout his training was important.
Kang Min-ho said, “If a senior player grumbles in front of him because he has a lot of training and makes an expression that he doesn’t want to do, the team can’t run well.” 토토사이트
Naturally, younger players follow him and follow him, especially young players such as Kim Jae-sang (19), Lee Jae-hyeon (20), Kim Hyun-jun (21), and Lee Hae-seung (23), who showed good results in both the process and results during the three-game winning streak. Kang Min-ho said, “Since young players have a lot of exercise, there must be something that can be felt in them. That seems to lead to their performance these days.”
Although evaluated as a weakling, he dreams of an underdog rebellion. Previously, due to the large amount of training, he said, “I think it would be unfair if I didn’t make it to the top 5.” He said, “I’ve been in professional baseball for 20 years, but no one knows baseball. Turning the atmosphere around and losing when the other person sees us comfortably can have the opposite effect. I will prepare well and stick together well.”
There was no change in Samsung’s training program even after three consecutive victories. During camp, it is normal to have a brief meeting after the game and leave work, but Samsung’s schedule was completed only after running was finished. Even after that, it was not uncommon to find players walking the distance of about an hour to the accommodation for exercise.
Kang Min-ho jokingly said, “Samsung doesn’t have that kind of thing. Originally, we were also doing batting training, but the coach said that we won the match and took it out. There is no penalty.”
After the interview, the veteran who set an example headed to the players who were waiting for him. Despite the strong wind, I took off my top and ran for a while before finishing the training.