Brandon Knight (46), the coach of the Shinsegae Emart Baseball Team, captivated the tastes of foreign pitchers in the team.
In domestic professional baseball, foreign players dominate farming throughout the year. But the biggest obstacle is adapting to Korean food. In particular, since most of the foreign players grew up in the United States and South America, it is not easy to eat Korean-specific spicy food.
However, foreign pitchers Wilmer Font (31) and Arty LeWiki (29) of the E-Mart baseball team, who are making their debut in the KBO this year, alleviated food concerns during the spring camp. An official from the E-Mart baseball team pointed out, “Thanks to the excellent cooking skills of the night coach, our foreign pitchers are not worried about food during the camp.”
On the 16th of last month, the night coach entered Korea with LeWiki and foreign batter Jamie Romac. Afterwards, the night coach, who moved to Jeju Island with them to self-isolate, provided cooked food every three days for LeWiki during the quarantine period. In particular, they presented a variety of dishes with skills comparable to chefs, from dishes using tortillas to spaghetti and chicken dishes. In addition, the night coach is delivering American-style dishes every three days at Fonts, which entered Korea and went to self-isolation on the 2nd.
The night coach I met at the Seogwipo Camp in Jeju on the 26th said, “I always cooked because I thought that a foreign player who came to Korea for the first time could eat American food and healthier food that I made rather than eating delivery food that does not suit my taste. If you enjoy eating delicious food, you will feel rewarded and proud,” he smiled. At the same time, he laughed at the reason why he became interested in cooking, “I think it started because my mother always told me that women like men who are good at cooking.”
The font said, “All the food that Night Coach gave us was delicious. Especially memorable is the carbonara pasta with bacon. I think I was able to adapt to Korea more easily thanks to the night coach.” LeWiki explained, “Not only did he tell us a lot about Korean culture and KBO, so he played a key role in adapting.”
SK fell to 9th place, the lowest ranking since the team was founded last year due to the injuries of two foreign pitchers Nick Kingham and Ricardo Pinto’s sluggishness. Two foreign pitchers are essential for the E-Mart baseball team that acquired SK to rebound this year. Night coach, who signed a foreign pitching advisor contract until March 31st, was hired to help Font and LeWiki’s soft landing. And thanks to the warm care of the night coach, Font and LeWiki are successfully settling in E-Mart.
“The two foreign pitchers are adapting successfully,” said E-Mart baseball team pitching coach Jo Woong-cheon. I am also satisfied with the previous bullpen pitching. The knight coach is very helpful so that the two players can adapt successfully.”
Seogwipo = Reporter Jeong Se-young [email protected]