On the 21st at the Kia Champions Field in Gwangju, where the KIA Tigers team’s spring camp is held, a club employee is checking the internal temperature of the bullpen. Gwangju/Yonhap News
The professional baseball Stove League is over. Now, hardening begins in earnest. The 10 KBO league teams will start spring camp training in various places in Korea from February 1. This is the first time since the first year of a professional (1982) that all 10 clubs have established a spring camp nest in Korea. At that time, the six clubs were short on time and could not go abroad. It means that Corona 19 turned the spring camp landscape back 39 years ago. The club that attracts the most attention is SK Wyverns, which was also sold to Shinsegae Group E-Mart. This will be the last camp to be held under the name of’SK Wyverns’. SK is preparing for the season at the Kang Chang-Hak Baseball Stadium in Seogwipo City, Jeju-do, while creating a noble team atmosphere. Moving to Busan on March 8th, Lotte Giants (9th and 11th, Busan Sajik Stadium), Katie Wiz (13th and 14th, Ulsan Munsu Baseball Stadium), Samsung Lions (16th and 17th, Daegu Samsung Lions Park), etc. It is possible that the team name changes during the practice match. Shinsegae Group E-Mart plans to launch a new club in March after signing the main acquisition contract on February 23rd. SK’s new manager Won-hyung Kim, who went through the sale of the club even before the official debut of the command tower, said in a conversation with the Hankyoreh on the 31st, “It is regrettable and burdensome, but expectations are higher now. I’m going to camp the way I had prepared before,” he said. I think I will do well as I prepared.” St. Louis Cardinals Kim Kwang-hyun is also training together. He said, “Because of the major league spring camp schedule, I allowed it because I wanted to train together for about ten days. If you train with (Kim) Kwanghyun, the atmosphere of the players will be better.”
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Hanwha Eagles, which has changed veteran players and coaches and started to improve the team constitution, started baseball farming in Geoje Hacheong Sports Town baseball field in Gyeongnam Province. New coach Carlos Subero, former major league coach, coach Darrell Kennedy, pitching coach Jose Rosado, and so on are the first to join. This spring camp did not include a single newcomer because the coaching staff decided that it is more efficient for new players to go through the training process through Futures training rather than being subject to rapid environmental changes. The second camp (February 16th-March 1st) will be held at Eagles Park of Hanwha Life Insurance in Daejeon. This is why it is necessary to identify the home stadium of the coach Subero and foreign coaching staff. KT, who entered the postseason for the first time since its foundation last year, trains at the Busan Gijang-Hyundai Motor Dream Ball Park. On the 27th, they move to Ulsan and hold a second camp at Munsu Baseball Stadium, and they plan to play 7 practice games with Doosan Bears, Samsung, LG Twins, SK, etc. Doosan and LG utilize the second district stadium in Icheon. NC (NC) Dinos (Gyeongnam Changwon NC Park), Samsung (Daegu Samsung Lions Park), Lotte (Busan Sajik Stadium), and Kia Tigers (Gwangju Kia Champions Field), which took the throne after 9 years of establishment last year In preparation for the 2021 season. Kiwoom Heroes, led by new coach Hong Won-ki, begins to warm up in the warmest place among 10 clubs (Gocheok Sky Dome, Seoul). Meanwhile, athletes such as coaches and coaches of each club, as well as trainers, interpreters, managers, and other Spring Camp participants were compulsory for Corona 19 testing. Each club submitted a negative Corona 19 confirmation to the Baseball Commission (KBO) by January 30th. The official of the baseball committee said, “There was no special abnormality.” By Kim Yang-hee, staff reporter [email protected]