It's been 17 years since the Little Prince. Captain's revival, FA, everything is at stake
Dec 16, 2024
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SSG Landers confirmed veteran pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun (36) as the team's captain in 2025. It was the final choice of the players. Coach Lee Sung-yong gathered with veteran players after the regular season and discussed various areas, including plans for next year's spring camp, and one of the hot topics on the day was the captain of next season.
The captain of this year's SSG squad was Choo Shin-soo. Choo Shin-soo announced his retirement early and began preparing for his final season, the 2024 season. After taking office, head coach Lee Sung-yong asked Choo Shin-soo to lead the team by taking the helm, and Choo Shin-soo readily accepted the role of captain.
As Choo Shin-soo retired, the captain's position became vacant again. The leading candidates were Kim Kwang-hyun and Oh Tae-gon. Both are veteran-level players, and have good relationships with their teammates. Among them, veteran players agreed that it would be better for Kim Kwang-hyun to take charge, and Kim Kwang-hyun finally accepted it as obstacles such as voting for the chairman of the Korea Professional Baseball Association were resolved. Through social media, he said, "I'll be a good communicator with my fans."It was also a hot topic when he revealed his public appearance.
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Since then, the beast has always been the captain. Even if the scope is narrowed down recently, fielders have all been in charge of Park Jung-kwon in 2017, Lee Jae-won in 2018-2019, Choi Jung in 2020, Lee Jae-won in 2021, Han Yu-sum in 2022-2023, and Choo Shin-soo this year.
However, pitcher Kim Kwang-hyun will be the captain for the first time in 17 years since former manager Kim Won-hyung. The symbolism of Kim Kwang-hyun, a franchise star and one of the best pitchers in the KBO League, was a decisive opportunity to break the custom.
In addition to his captain's role, next season is a life-or-death year for Kim Kwang-hyun. This year he suffered an unexpected slump. He won 12 games, but lost 10 games. It was his worst performance since his professional debut with a 4.93 ERA while playing full time. In the early part of the season, he was not lucky, and he struggled with the increase in the number of home runs.
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"Kim Kwang-hyun is a pitcher who has already made a lot of changes," said pitcher coach Kyung Heon-ho, who first worked with Kim Kwang-hyun. When I was young, I was two-pitch, but now I have made many changes, such as changeups and throwing curves. Rather than any further changes, it is more important to manage well and play without injury now that you are old. I thought I would do well next year because I felt something like ABS this year."
Moreover, Kim Kwang-hyun will mark his fourth season after returning to his former team in the Major League next year. The last year of a four-year contract. As it is another season ahead of FA qualification, motivation is sufficient. Kim Kwang-hyun is facing an important season by taking on the role of captain amid a lot of pressure and concern.
youll@sportschosun.com
