Again this year, many players have applied for commerce. A total of 32 players were listed in the first list of the Sangmu Baseball Team led by coach Park Chi-wang, and the final list of successful candidates was confirmed through the second screening. There were 14 players who were called by the managing director, and more than half of the first passers drank the high score of dropout.
Many of the players that any baseball fan would have heard of at least once enjoyed the joy of passing the executive director. Players with first-team experience in the ‘defending champion’ NC Dinos passed, and the remaining 10 were players who received snow stamps from the team.
▲ (From left) Choi Seong-young-Lee Yoo-chan-Lim Byung-wook Ⓒ NC Dinos, Doosan Bears, Kiwoom Heroes
The 14’first class’ players who passed through fierce competition
By position, pitchers were picked the most. Jaehwan Bae, Sungyoung Choi (NC), Min Kim, Donghyun Son (kt Wiz), Kihoon Kim (KIA Tigers), Seunggun Kim Joohan Baek, Wonjun Lee (SK Wyverns), etc. are all eight. These are the ones who received attention as the future of the team or played in many games in the first team.
It is noteworthy that as many as three pitchers passed from SK, where manager Kim Won-hyung, who was a former pitcher, took office. In the case of Kim Joo-han, he started 142 games in the first team from 2016 to last year, mainly as a bullpen pitcher. Baek Seung-gun and Lee Won-jun are pitchers who can lead one axis in the starting line in the long run.
At kt, where Ko Young-pyo and Shim Jae-min joined the team who solved the military problem, Min Kim and Dong-Hyun Son were away. In particular, if Min Kim, who went back and forth between the starter and the bullpen, comes back from the vice president, it is expected to be of great strength to the kt mound.
In the catcher division, NC backup catcher Kim Hyung-jun broke the competition rate of 1:4, and in the infielder division, where eight players passed in the first round, three players, Yoo Chan, Hong Jong-pyo, and Choi Jun-woo, passed. Doosan Bears Yoo-chan, who performed an impressive base in the postseason last year, leaves behind the team’s main game and heads to managing director.
Of the seven outfielders, only two NC Kim Sung-wook and Ki-woom Lim Byung-wook were included in the final passers’ list. It is true that the chances of passing are high considering the fact that they have more experience in the first team than the remaining five outfielders. As for Kiwoom, as’Veteran’ Lee Yong-gyu joined the outfield, there is no need to worry about Lim’s vacancy.
▲ (From left) Daehyun Kim-Hyeonwoo Kang-Hyosang Joo Ⓒ LG Twins, kt Wiz, Kiwoom Heroes
18 people who were eliminated from fierce competition…the players who promised to be next
There were only 32 people who passed the first round, and from the standpoint of the managing director, all of them could not be selected. The final passer had to be decided through the second round of screening, and only 18 players fell in the process. Some of the top players were no exception.
The most representative player is Kim Dae-hyun. As a former LG Twins nomination in 2016, there were many twists and turns, such as sluggishness and injuries. LG expected to grow into a starting pitcher, but it was pushed out of the competition due to hardship, and the weight of the bullpen was not very large.
With young pitchers showing a massive growth, Kim Dae-hyun’s position is getting narrower. There is no guarantee that this season will also be able to join the opening entry. The news of the dropout from managing director is inevitable for both the team and the individual.
The three catchers who were pushed by Kang Hyun-woo would also be disappointing. Joo Hyo-sang, who is the third catcher after Park Dong-won and Lee Ji-young in Kiwoom, Kang Hyun-woo, who is the motive for joining the group with Sohn Joon, and KIA Han Jun-su, “first nomination in 2018”, it was no wonder who passed. It seems that their fate has been changed in detailed inspections conducted for four days from the 12th of last month.
In the infield, Samsung Lions Yang Woo-hyun and Hanwha Eagles Cho Han-min were eliminated. Most of the five people who have fallen from the outfielder are also promising players, and the names of Lee Jae-won, LG’s next-generation right-hander, and Yoo Jang-hyuk, who will be responsible for the future of Hanwha’s outfield, stand out.
On the other hand, 14 players who will be part of the vice president until next year enter the Nonsan Training Center at 2 pm on March 22 and receive basic military training. After completing this process, he will join the Sangmu Baseball Team and play the Futures League game.
☞ Sports news with perspective, go to’Omy Sports’ Facebook