What will manager Kim Tae-hyung advise after reuniting with Jeong Cheol-won?
On the 10th, ahead of a professional baseball exhibition game against the LG Twins at Busan Sajik Stadium, Kim Tae-hyung, manager of the Lotte Giants, conveyed words of advice regarding Jeong Cheol-won, who wore the Lotte uniform and played his first official game the previous day (9th).
Jeong Cheol-won appeared in the exhibition game against KIA the previous day (9th) and recorded 1 inning with 1 walk and 2 strikeouts, finishing with no runs in an 8th inning match tied at 0-0. He gave a walk to the lead-off batter Park Jae-hyun after a full count. He then directly handled a sacrifice bunt from Han Seung-taek.
He faced a scoring threat with one out and two runners on base. However, he calmly eliminated the threat. With one out and two runners on, he gained a favorable count of 1 ball and 2 strikes against Choi Won-jun and induced a swinging strikeout with a 130 km forkball. With two outs and two runners on, he faced Yoon Do-hyun, inducing two foul balls with forkballs before gaining 2 strikes and getting another swinging strikeout with a 134 km slider. He completed the inning, raising his fist in celebration. On that day, Jeong Cheol-won recorded a maximum speed of 147 km/h, using 8 fastballs, 3 sliders, and 3 forkballs.
Manager Kim Tae-hyung advised, "I’ve been watching closely, and the most important thing is to relieve the burden and go up on the mound. It seems that he just needs to throw his pitch instead of trying to throw better."
Regarding the celebration, it was interpreted as representing Jeong Cheol-won's current burden. Manager Kim interpreted, "The celebration reflects his current feelings. It seems he can just take it easy," and added, "Since he has been traded, he seems to have a desire to show a better form than last year, which creates a wish to do well."
On that day, Lotte will start Kim Jin-wook. The starting lineup consists of Hwang Seong-bin (center fielder), Yoon Dong-hee (right fielder), Son Ho-young (third baseman), Reyes (designated hitter), Na Seung-yeop (first baseman), Jeon Jun-woo (left fielder), Park Seung-wook (shortstop), Han Tae-yang (second baseman), and Jeong Bo-geun (catcher).
Meanwhile, Gu Seung-min, who appeared in the 9th inning the previous day and was hit in the calf by a batted ball, will take a rest for now. Manager Kim Tae-hyung explained, "It seems difficult today and tomorrow."
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