It was a wasteland when I joined the army…You've changed 180 degrees! Will Sajik's 'Choochu' become a civilian be able to adapt?

Jul 16, 2024

롯데 추재현. Sports Chosun DB

A man who once dreamed of winning a rookie award. Choo Jae-hyun, who played as one of the pillars of Sajik's outfield, is back.

Lotte Giants' Choo Jae-hyun will be discharged from the military athletic unit on the 15th and join the first team squad from the 16th. Rather than registering for the first team quickly, head coach Kim Tae-hyung will check his skills by looking at him himself.

He was called a "hit genius" in the days of Shinil High School. He has a batting average of 358 (64 hits in 179 at-bats) for three years in high school. At that time, he was also a player who attracted attention in high school baseball along with Kang Baek-ho (KT Wiz).

He wore a Nexen (current Kiwoom) uniform in the second third round in 2018 and traded to Lotte in 2020. He showed good performance in the second division in favorable comments that he has qualities in hitting, and it broke out in earnest in 2021.

Although he mainly watched center field, he showed off his impressive skills by batting .300 and OPS (on-base plus slugging) 0.8 until August. The joke that 'Choo Choo Train (Choo Shin-soo)' was worthwhile.

He failed to recover after falling into a severe slump with a batting average in the .100 range between September and October at the end of the season. The year after Son Ah-seop (NC Dinos) left, he couldn't easily escape the slump, and eventually chose to join the military.

롯데 추재현. Sports Chosun DB

This year, he showed off his impressive batting performance in the Futures League. He played in 57 games with a batting average of 313 (61 hits in 195 at-bats), four homers and 30 RBIs, and an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of 0.802.

The Lotte outfield environment at the time of Choo Jae-hyun's enlistment and now is a world-class difference. At that time, Lotte was a team that wanted to take outfielders to the first team and order center field. On the other hand, Reyes, Hwang Sung-bin and Yoon Dong-hee's outfield are solid.

However, head coach Kim Tae-hyung has excellent ability to prepare and utilize various options. Batters can experience a slump at any time. Prepare double or triple cards for that time. "A good player keeps going out" is a theory that he has insisted on since Doosan's days.

롯데 추재현. Sports Chosun DB

First of all, entering the first team entry is the key. You can compete with Junghoon Lee for a left-handed substitute, or you can compete with Kim Dong-hyuk or Jang Doo-sung as a logistical and pinch-runner agent. He has a good shoulder enough to play as a pitcher in high school, and he also has a shot in hitting.

If Chu Jae-hyun can show his skills in the first team when he was nominated for the 2021 Rookie of the Year award, the opportunity will come anytime. The key is whether Sangmu has overcome its weakness against body breaking balls.

lunarfly@sportschosun.com