Kia Tigers left-handed setup man Choi Ji-min (21) had severe ups and downs this year, leaving behind his best second year of the season. He had three wins and three losses, three saves and 12 holds, an ERA of 5.09, a batting average of 0.250, WHIP of 1.83. He suddenly gained speed about 10 kilometers, taking over the Hangzhou Asian Games and the Asian Baseball Championship, which was a stark difference from last year when he emerged as a left-handed fireballer setup man at Korea National University.
During his 46 innings, he recorded 37 strikeouts and 44 walks. This contrasts sharply with last year, when he recorded 30 walks in 59 ⅓ innings. In July, he confessed that he was under stress from walks in the early days of this season. Finally, he failed to completely address this issue and ended this season.
Manager Lee Bum-ho could not hide his regret when Choi Ji-min came up with the idea of training for the Korean Series at Gwangju KIA Champions Field on the 12th. Basically, before the start of the 2023 season, he played for Geelong Korea, played for the Australian professional baseball team twice, and played as a must-win team for the first time. In other words, his control and command became a little dull in the aftermath.
Therefore, Lee sent Choi Ji-min to the second division one after another at the end of the first half and early in the second half to give him time to reorganize. It did not have much effect. Given the performance at the end of the season, it is not surprising that Lee could be eliminated from the entry list for the Korean Series. He had an earned run average of 11.81 with one win and one hold in 11 games in the second half. At this point, he is the painful finger of Kia’s bullpen.
However, Lee Bum-ho has never given up on Choi Ji-min or neglected him in the second division. If a left-handed setup man throws a fastball in the late 140km range to early 150km range, it will definitely be for the first division. He has already made it to the main setup man for the national team. “If a player stays in the second division, he is a player in the second division,” Lee said.
Even head coach Lee Bum-ho said, “You can adjust it for 10 days in the second division, and if it’s not good, you can get off again and post it in 10 days.” Since Choi Ji-min is not a player who should stay in the second division, he believes that he can survive by exchanging feedback with leaders in the process of making them come and go between the first and second divisions.
Coach Lee Bum-ho certainly sets the boundaries between the main team and the backup team, and the first and second teams. 슬롯사이트 gives ample time to players who enter the main and first teams and persevere. Given more than three weeks after the regular season until the Korean Series, it is a very precious time for Choi Ji-min.
Choi did not pitch in the match against Sangmu on Wednesday. Instead, he took the mound on Friday during the batters’ live bet. “The ball was good. It keeps getting better,” manager Lee Bum-ho said. Choi carefully started playing catch balls when his teammates were performing live pitching, and exchanged feedback with pitching coach Jeong Jae-hoon for a long time. Lee Bum-ho, who watched this performance in the dugout, nodded.
At this point, Choi is not the No. 1 option among Kia’s left-handed bullpen pitchers. The No. 1 option is Kwak Do-gyu, who is clearly a second-year veteran. However, Choi Ji-min is an orthodox fireballer and left-hander who is valuable to KIA. Manager Lee Bum-ho laid the groundwork for Choi to revive the team. If Choi is revived dramatically in the Korean Series, he will be able to participate in the Premier 12 national team convocation training in a good mood.