You have to throw your mind into it Lee Jong-yeol's request for a word toward 7 billion FA and the full-fledged project to survive in Lapak, USA
Dec 23, 2024
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Choi Won-tae, a pitcher who wore a blue uniform for the Samsung Lions through the FA market. The special name has fallen.
It is a return to a two-seam fastball pitcher.
When Choi Won-tae was the Heroes, fighting spirit was the main pitch.
Since 2017, his third season as a professional player, he has become a 10-win pitcher by installing fighting spirit as his main pitching type. He used two-seam fastballs for nearly 50% of all pitches, combined with curves, sliders, and changeups, adding power to his ground ball-guided features.
Choi Won-tae, who had an ERA of 11 wins, 7 losses and 4.46 in 2017, has evolved to 13 wins, 7 losses and 3.95 in 2018, the following year. In 2019, he recorded a career high with an 11-5 record and 3.38 ERA in 27 games. It has achieved double-digit wins for three consecutive years by using pitch-seam as the main game type.
Choi Won-tae, who slowed down in 2020 with seven wins and a 5-point ERA as his ball control was disturbed, has been hesitant every season since then at the threshold of 10 wins.
When he moved to LG in 2023, Choi Won-tae changed his pitching repertoire.
As he moved to the wide Jamsil bee, he took out the four-seam fastball that had been sealed so far. The proportion of four-seam increased, and eventually this season, the four-seam was 21%, outpacing the two-seam (18.2%). He has become a pitcher who plays as many as six pitches as he can, including sliders (18.4%), changeups (16.4%), cutters (13.1%), and curves (12.9%).
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Choi Won-tae signed a contract with the Samsung Lions on the 6th on the condition of a maximum of 7 billion won for four years (2.4 billion won in down payment, 3.4 billion won in annual salary, 1.2 billion won in incentives).
General manager Lee Jong-yeol, who led the contract, showed strong faith in Choi Won-tae. A 10-win starting pitcher who came out as an FA at the age of 27, the youngest ever. It was a natural trust as the pitcher was guaranteed consistency and sincerity with 78 wins in 217 games.
"We did our best to recruit Choi Won-tae because it is essential to recruit a stable starting pitcher to improve the team's ranking next season." explains. It was also the reason why they pushed ahead with the contract amid fierce pros and cons among the fandom.
However, despite his strong trust, the general manager Lee asked for only one "Throw a determination". Choi Won-tae is also going to throw a lot of grit at Samsung," he replied.
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First, it is a home stadium factor that will be extremely different. Choi Won-tae will move from Jamsil, the best pitcher-friendly stadium, to Daegu Lions Park, the best batter-friendly stadium.
At Jamsil Stadium, which LG and Doosan shared this season, 220 home runs were hit. At Lions Park, Samsung's home stadium, 216 home runs came out. The stadium factor was so extreme that the number of home runs in Jamsil and Daegu, which played more than twice as many games, was almost the same.
Transformation is essential to live in Lapak. Compared to four-seam, two-seam avoids home runs and is a good pitch to induce ground balls. It's not difficult to increase the weight because it's a good pitching type.
Second, it is Samsung's use of extreme infielders.
Samsung's infield has risen to the strongest level in the league since Park Jin-man, who was the 'best infielder'.
With 88 infield errors in 2022, the infielders, who were last in the 10 clubs, have reduced their mistakes steeply. It moved to a tie for fifth place with 73 in 2023, and jumped to first place with 52 infield errors in 2024. Two years after taking office, he succeeded in generational change with young infielders such as Lee Jae-hyun and Kim Young-woong, and succeeded in creating a net of extreme power. Young infielders who have experienced the first Korean series since joining the team are expected to play more mature defense next year. On top of that, veteran Ryu Ji-hyuk remained at Samsung under an FA contract, maintaining a sense of stability at second base. Diaz, a foreign hitter who has renewed his contract, is also a first baseman with solid defense.
A way to reduce the probability of home runs and maximize the use of the strongest infield. The answer is to induce as many ground balls as possible.
Choi Won-tae, who is renewing his commitment in the new team, starts winter training early. At the end of this month, he will depart for the U.S. with his younger colleagues, including Lee Seung-hyun and Lee Ho-sung. Hwang Dong-jae and Lee Jae-hyun will focus on basic training and improving their skills at CSP (Cressey Sports Performance), a baseball program facility in West Palm Beach, Florida.
hschung@sportschosun.com
