“I feel like the ball is going well even when I am sitting.”
Kang-Nam Yoo (31), whom the Lotte Giants acquired early on in the free agent market. The large contract of 4 years and 8 billion won reflects Lotte’s expectations for Yoo Kang-nam. After Kang Min-ho (Samsung) left, he could hardly solve his catcher’s weakness, and eventually turned his eyes to the free agency market and recruited Yoo Kang-nam after much thought.
Last month, Lotte held an initiation ceremony for three free agent recruits, including Yoo Kang-nam, infielder Noh Jin-hyuk, and pitcher Han Hyun-hee. In the video introducing Yoo Gang-nam, Lotte called Yoo Gang-nam “the catcher the pitcher wants.” It is also the highest praise from his catcher’s point of view. At that time, after watching the club’s introductory video, Yoo Gang-nam said, “When I started catcher, I wanted to become a ‘catcher that the pitcher wants’ and ‘a catcher who goes directly to the pitcher’. He felt good while watching the video introduced by the club. He made up his mind, saying, “I will show you what I can trust by going to the pitching staff in person.” In fact, Lotte began pitching in the bullpen from the first day of spring camp training on the 2nd, and Yoo Kang-nam received the ball from Lotte pitchers for the first time. Yoo Kang-nam worked with Moon Kyung-chan, Kim Won-joong, and Choi Jun-yong. Yoo Kang-nam, who received 30 balls per pitcher, shouted “fighting” with all his soul in each ball. He raised his voice as if the entire training ground would leave.
In fact, Yoo Kang-nam wanted to quickly catch the ball from the Lotte pitchers. Right before leaving for spring camp, he said, “I heard that he pitched from the beginning of the camp, and he built his body well according to the schedule. In the process of preparing for camp recently, I think I have built my body well enough to be counted on my hands,” he said. 메이저사이트
While shouting “fighting,” he devoted himself to framing, which is his specialty, and after that, he devoted himself to understanding pitchers’ tendencies, such as asking and discussing pitchers’ pitch types and favorite courses from time to time. The one-bound breaking ball was also blocked without going too far. Yoo Kang-nam had no time to rest while receiving bullpen pitching. Pitching coach Bae Young-soo and battery coach Choi Gyeong-cheol both saw Yoo Gang-nam’s fighting spirit and encouraged him to become “(Yu) Gangnam has built a good body!”
Closing pitcher Kim Won-joong said, “(You) Gangnam hyung and I were just saying hello to each other at the stadium. He shared his opinion while also making a video call. All the catchers on our team are doing well, but isn’t Gangnam a high-class catcher who even went to free agency? He has no doubts,” revealing his faith and trust. Kang-Nam Yoo’s getting to know the Lotte pitcher, and the ‘Yoo Gang-Nam effect’ that will spread to the Lotte mound are just beginning. /jhrae@osen.co.kr
Choi Jun-yong also worked with Kang-nam Yoo for the first time, but he did not hide his strong feelings. Choi Jun-yong said, “It’s an emotional feeling, but basically he’s a good catcher senior. He is now pulling his body up, and his pitching condition was not very good, but it felt like the ball was going well even if he just sat down,” he laughed.