Why did KT Wiz captain Jang Seong-woo show such a startled reaction when the issue of the team's slow starter escape was brought up?
On the 8th, Jang Seong-woo started as the fourth catcher in the exhibition game opener against the LG Twins at Suwon KT Wiz Park, leading the team to a 5-1 come-from-behind victory with 1 hit, 1 home run, and 2 RBIs in 3 at-bats.
In the bottom of the first inning with 2 outs and runners on first base, Jang Seong-woo warmed up with a ground ball to second base and drew a decisive arch in his second at-bat. It was the 4th inning, 1 out, and a runner on third base with the score trailing 0-1. Facing LG's starter Yonny Chirinos, who boasts 20 wins in Major League Baseball, he found himself in a disadvantageous count of 1 ball, 2 strikes. However, he connected with a 149 km/h fastball high inside on the fifth pitch, hitting a 2-run home run (distance: 115 m) over the left field fence. This was the moment he hit the game-winning hit.
After the game, Jang Seong-woo said, "Chirinos's sinkers, sliders, and forkballs looked good. I was focusing on high balls while cutting off the falling pitches. I heard that Chirinos's fastball rate is about 10%, and that he throws high balls among them. I was thinking that there might be that kind of course, which is why I could react. "
How did Jang Seong-woo feel about Chirinos's pitching from a catcher's perspective? He noted, "Right-handed batters find it a bit challenging to hit him. I had seen a lot of his sinkers on video, but his movement was better than I expected, making it difficult to hit. Still, I wondered if left-handed batters might have it easier against Chirinos, especially since Rojas got a hit earlier, creating the opportunity."
Jang Seong-woo, who was early identified as the fourth batter in manager Lee Kang-cheol's lineup this year, humbly referred to himself as the fourth hitter instead. This is due to manager Lee placing Cleanup Trio members Kang Baek-ho and Mel Rojas Jr. in the table-setting roles.
Jang Seong-woo laughed as he recalled, "Last year, I joked with the players that since I was batting fourth, our team could only finish in fifth place. We play a somewhat different style of baseball compared to other teams. The manager has said that the better hitters need to hit a lot at the top. So, the weight of batting fourth is definitely less, and I just think of myself as the fourth hitter. Heo Kyung-min has the best contact rate in the league, and I don't strike out often either. With Kang Baek-ho and Rojas getting on base frequently and having big hits, the manager wants us to drive them in. Since the manager arrived and I batted fourth a few times, I don't feel much pressure. Everyone has gotten used to it."
Therefore, Jang Seong-woo's mindset at the plate is quite different from that of other fourth batters. He said, "I try to adjust my hitting to the situation. I can’t hit the ball thrown by a left-handed pitcher with the same batting technique as that thrown by a right-handed pitcher. For example, the pitches from Kim Taek-yeon (Doosan Bears) have good vertical movement that tends to rise, and I shouldn’t just try to lift them from below. I find that adjusting to the situation allows me to produce more RBIs, especially when there are runners on base or in clutch situations, because my focus intensifies."
Jang Seong-woo took on the significant role of captain for this year's Magic Team, following the retirement of coach Park Kyung-soo. When asked about his feelings after going through spring training as captain, he replied, "As you know, with the arrival of the manager and coaches Yoon Han-jun and Park Kyung-soo, we created a good culture with the veterans. Since I'm a catcher, I was helping senior players Yoon and Park to gel well with the younger players even before I became captain. After about two months of being captain, I don't really have much to do. If the food at camp is bad, I suggest it, and if the players want to head into the city, I request the club to arrange a bus. If the kids are struggling, I take the initiative to ask the manager and coaches for a break. This is about the extent of a captain's duties," he said with a smile.
He also added, "The manager mentions communication as a major condition for team performance. I talk with the manager a lot, and he feels comfortable talking to me, which is why he entrusted me with the captaincy. But once I started, I realized there’s not much to do as captain."
KT, boasting a powerful starting lineup, is again mentioned as a strong title contender this year. There are also whispers that they are challengers to the defending champion Kia Tigers. To do so, unlike in previous years, they need to charge into the upper ranks from the start, and expectations are rising for their escape from being slow starters as they have been able to carry out all training as planned in good weather during the Australian and Japanese spring training this year. Last year, due to the cold weather in Busan, their training was scaled back from the plan, and KT struggled in the lower ranks at the start of the season before finishing 5th through a magical journey.
However, it turned out that the issue related to this has been a taboo within the team. Jang Seong-woo exclaimed, "That’s our taboo," expressing surprise, and recalled, "Last year at camp, the president said 'wire to wire,' but we lost that goal after just one game. We often discuss among ourselves that we have to start strong every year. Nowadays, all the other teams have gotten stronger, so it’s tough in the second half, and we need to do well from the start, yet we kept losing. No matter what we did, we couldn’t win, and by the middle of the season, we thought, 'Let’s just play comfortably; if it doesn’t work, we can try again next year,' which is interesting because that’s when we always started to rise."
Just because escape from being a slow starter is a taboo within the team, it doesn't mean there’s a lack of determination about it. It’s because we want it so badly that we are afraid to speak it out loud for fear of negativity, so everyone secretly hopes for strong performances in the early part of the season. Jang Seong-woo said, "The manager hasn’t brought up that topic at all during this camp, and the players also don't tend to talk about it much among themselves. We don't consciously think about it."
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