Last draft car → official player change → SV → 1st division scams in 3 innings
Joining the opening entry, no longer a dream.
KT Wiz pitcher Kang In, who was last called in the 2023 KBO Rookie Draft, is writing a drama. His name was on the KT first-team spring camp list announced on the 30th. The ranking is 110th. At the time of the selection, did he think his name would be on the first-team spring camp list in the second year.
At the time of the 2022 draft, Kang was the last to be called. That year's draft was the first full draft under the 10-team system, and the first draft was selected in the 11th round.
A native of Jangan High School, he played in 11 games in his third year of high school, recording 4 wins, 2 losses and 2.94 ERA. While playing 51.2 innings, he had 53 strikeouts, which was not a bad record, but he was not named until the end.
"I was watching the draft at school," Kang told reporters at the KT Futures team's training site in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, right before the opening of the 2023 season. My name didn't go well even in the last round, so I was thinking, "Okay, let's just go to college. Let's write an application."
"My friends suddenly shouted, 'Why, why?' and they congratulated me. I got a lot of calls from my high school friends who played baseball with me, as well as my elementary and middle school friends. My parents were also crying and congratulating me," he said.
Happiness may not be in the order of nominations, but it is not easy for a player ranked 110th to make the first team entry. Kang, however, silently waited for the opportunity. Although Kang's record was not outstanding with one win, one loss and two holds with an ERA of 5.10 in 34 Futures games, he received passing points in folk balls and sliders.
On October 3, he was named in his dream first-team entry, and his status was also changed from a nurturing player to an official player.
Kang has appeared in four games since joining the first division. He pitched one scoreless inning each against the Suwon KIA Tigers on Oct. 4 and the Suwon Samsung Lions on Oct. 6. And the highlight was against the Suwon Hanwha Eagles on Oct. 7, when he pitched three scoreless innings, allowing one hit, no outs, and three strikeouts. He left the impression with one save and an ERA of 1.35 in four games in the first division.
After recording his save against the Hanwha Eagles, Kang said, "I tried to create many things that would work in the first division. The first is ball control. As I believe that ball control requires the most control in order to play a game, I pay the most attention to ball control and try to think about the next one. The second is ball speed, and before I was registered in the first division, I was able to throw balls up to 148 kilometers at Futures League."
Due to his strong heart and good breaking ball, he wanted to be listed on the baseball entry list in autumn last year, but regulation on registered players was hindered. Manager Lee Kang-chul also regretted this.
Perhaps a new opportunity has arrived. KT needs to find a new winning team with Kim Jae-yoon gone. It could be an opportunity for Kang, but on the other hand, it needs to win the competition with Park Young-hyun, Son Dong-hyun, and Lee Sang-dong, Kim Min-soo and Park Si-young.
However, for Kang, everything is experience and valuable assets. Just throwing the ball and training with the older members in the first division is an opportunity.
"I know how to throw fastballs, two-seam sliders, knuckle curves, and splitters. I'm confident in two of them: sliders and splitters. I can strike out a lot with sliders," Kang said with confidence. What will Kang look like.
Kang, who dramatically stepped on the professional stage while riding the last train of the draft, is writing a drama while controlling the mind of coach Lee Kang-chul with fearless pitching.
Meanwhile, KT will hold a spring camp in Gijang, Busan, and Okinawa, Japan, and will start its 2024 season in earnest. A total of 54 players, including 10 coaches led by Lee Kang-chul and 44 players from the team, will participate.
The first camp, which will be held at Hyundai Motor's Dream Ball Park in Busan for the first time in two years since 2022, will be held from February 1st to 22nd for a three-day training break and will strengthen team work through physical and tactical training.
Team Korea will move to Okinawa, Japan, on Sunday for the second camp after the first camp on Sunday. The team will play a warm-up match with KIA Tigers, Hanwha Eagles, and Lotte Giants to enhance sense of play in actual matches and return to Korea via Incheon International Airport on March 6. 스포츠토토