Broken cruciate ligament → 10 home runs for the first time since debut → 4th most important..."I was angry because I couldn't play." I believe in the sweat I shed. SSG's next generation has grown one step further

Broken cruciate ligament → 10 home runs for the first time since debut → 4th most important..."I was angry because I couldn't play." I believe in the sweat I shed. SSG's next generation has grown one step further

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I trained a lot, but I was angry because it didn't fit me."

Ko Myung-joon, a promising next-generation SSG Landers player, knows the value of sweating in the offseason.메이저사이트

After graduating from Sebyeong High School, Ko joined the SK Wyverns, the predecessor of SSG, as the 18th pick in the second round of the 2021 KBO Rookie Draft. His performance so far has been disappointing. He played only three games in the 2021 season and two games in the 2023 season. In the 2022 season, there was even a bad news that the cruciate ligament in his right knee was broken.

Last season, he performed better than what his team expected. He recorded 85 hits, 11 homers, 45 RBIs, 33 runs and a batting average of 0.250. He hit his first 10 homers against Aaron Wilkerson on July 11, 2024, against the Lotte Giants in Incheon, and his first homer against Won Tae-in on Sept. 15, against the Samsung Lions in Incheon.

He started the season with the first baseman positioned at SSG. He got off to a good start in March. He had a batting average of 0.280 (seven hits in 25 times at bat). He did not hit the homeruns he expected, but he managed to survive without Choi.

However, the team failed to display strong performance in early April. It had only four hits in 26 times at bat in eight matches in early April. His batting average for this season fell to 0.216. It was all the more so because it was Ko Myung-jun who was evaluated as the core of SSG remodeling along with Park Ji-hwan and Jung Joon-jae.

Is it because of manager Lee's wish? Ko is hot these days. He made his first three-hit game of this season against the Hanwha Eagles in Incheon on April 16. From the game against the Incheon LG Twins on April 19 to the game against the Suwon KT Wiz on April 24, he made five consecutive two-hit games. His batting average for this season, which had fallen to 0.216 for him, has also recovered to 0.292. His batting average in the last 10 games is 0.341 (14 hits from 41 times at bat).

He has been playing as the fourth hitter since the match against Suwon KT on April 23rd, and his fourth batter's clothes look pretty good on him.

"Now, I am proactively playing the bat. I am going to proactively hit the bat at the timing of my fastball. As I hit just one ball, I gained confidence. I need to hit the ball far away. If I do it with confidence, I will get a better result," Lee said.

Ko Myung-joon, who I recently met, said, "I gained confidence from the batting. As the points behind me are formed in the future, the quality of the batting improves and there are many hits. "I trained a lot and got better little by little through various training sessions with my batting coach," he said with a smile. "I trained a lot during the off-season, but when it didn't fit, I got angry at myself. I got better as I tried to be confident."

 

"I don't feel pressured about batting order. It would be nice if I could get a long shot, but when I can score points, I should call a runner on a ground ball to score points even if I can't get a hit. My team comes first rather than batting order," he said.

Ko appeared in four games at a training camp in Okinawa, Japan, where he recorded six hits, three RBIs, and a batting average of 0.545. He did not have a homer, but he showed excellent contact skills. His goal for this season is 30 homers and 100 RBIs.

"The season is a long one. We haven't played many games yet. If we continue to play games, the numbers will probably follow," Ko said. "The results will come out only after 144 games in the regular season. I think more about the areas where a team can win every game than about 30 home runs or 100 RBIs."

Veteran Choi Jung is absent from SSG, and foreign hitter Guillermo Herredia is also injured. A situation in which the season is being played without a cannon.

"They don't want to put pressure on younger players. They tell us to do whatever we want as young as possible," he said. "As a professional player, we need to take responsibility. Aren't they players who are playing in the first team?" he said.