From his move to the United States, Kim Hye-seong won the KBO Golden Glove for second baseman for three consecutive years before leaving. This year, there will definitely be a new face receiving the Golden Glove for second baseman.
Could LG Twins infielder Shin Min-jae also be a candidate for the Golden Glove for second baseman? Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop expressed confidence in Shin Min-jae, stating, "He ranks in the top 3 among league second basemen."
Shin Min-jae, who joined Doosan Bears as a developmental player in 2015 and transferred to LG through the second draft in 2019, rose to the position of starting second baseman midway through the 2023 season after initially playing as a designated hitter. Last year, he participated in 128 games, recording a batting average of .297 (115 hits in 387 at-bats), 40 RBIs, 78 runs, 32 stolen bases, an on-base percentage of .401, and an OPS of .758, growing into an indispensable player for LG. He missed out on a .300 batting average due to minor injuries late in the season.
Despite having a shorter off-season due to his participation in the Premier 12 national team, Shin Min-jae also gained international tournament experience. Meeting Shin Min-jae at the spring camp in Arizona, he said, "After returning from the Premier 12, I played baseball for about a month longer and took a break. After training at camp, it seems that having played baseball for an extra month has helped my senses and pace come back faster and I'm able to prepare better."
He noted that there was no physical burden from not resting much during the off-season due to his national team commitments. Shin Min-jae said, "I thought about taking about a month and a half off after the season, and it was fun to play with good players on the national team. I got to hit against other foreign players’ pitches, which definitely helped me and was good."
Base running coach Jeong Su-seong gained attention for using equipment like drones at spring camp to measure and coach players' stolen bases and base running in detail.
Shin Min-jae said, "Right now, I'm just checking and confirming, but once the season starts, during the second half or when I’m a bit tired, I will be able to compare the game footage with now and see how much difference there is in posture or data." He added, "I'm not running at 100% right now, but I can check the numbers and compare them with actual game situations."
Shin Min-jae attempted and succeeded in a stolen base during the internal game held at the Arizona first camp. Stolen bases are rarely seen during internal games.
After the game, Shin Min-jae said, "I don’t think I stole a base during the internal game, but the pitcher on the mound was someone I had never seen before. Koen was pitching, so I checked the timing and wanted to see how my start was. Coach Jeong Su-seong told me that if I wanted to run, I could, so since he was a new pitcher I didn't recognize, I wanted to try and steal. It turned out better than I expected."
Koen Winn, an Australian, was invited to LG's spring camp to be tested ahead of next year's introduction of the Asia quota system. Shin Min-jae expressed satisfaction, saying, "Jeong Hyun was the catcher, and he did well with his throws, so the timing of how well you will play or not in real matches seemed to come into play."
When asked about his goals or priorities for this season, Shin Min-jae mentioned his desire for playing time and defensive innings. He stated, "Rather than focusing on records, I want to participate in many games. I'm eager to play in the high 130s of games. Because being able to play that many games without getting hurt and finishing the season is what matters. If I play over 1,000 defensive innings, I believe that me being able to go through a season perfectly is possible."
Last year, Shin Min-jae started 114 games as a second baseman and logged 984 innings. He remarked, "If my wrist hadn't hurt at the end of last season, I could have reached 1,000 innings. Regardless of whether I did well or poorly, if I can avoid injury, I believe that I can achieve it. I want to prepare better this year and go for 1,000 innings, given my regrets about my injuries last year."
If he participates in nearly 140 games and achieves over 1,000 innings of defense alongside an on-base percentage of .400 and a batting average over .300, he would likely be a candidate for the Golden Glove. Shin Min-jae said with a smile, "I think that's something to consider after the season. For now, I have a strong desire to just do well without dropping out until the end, and I want to win once more rather than focusing on the Golden Glove."
Shin Min-jae stated that he would prepare for good condition for the season's opening by training during practice games in the second Okinawa camp and during the exhibition games after returning to Korea.
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