Kids these days don't throw it FA's pride is hurt, he's already clenched three times in bullpen pitching
Feb 06, 2025
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NC Dinos veteran pitcher Lee Yong-chan applied for his second FA after completing the 2024 season. He exercised his rights as a player, but the results did not come out as expected. In the end, as the year passed and the departure date of the spring camp approached, he signed a contract with NC, his original team, for up to 1 billion won for 2+1 years.
I couldn't have put it off any longer. Lee Yong-chan already has memories of being lost when he applied for the first FA. Even then, luck didn't follow. Although Doosan Bears had been verified as a key pitcher who can use both starters and bullpens, the contract was difficult as they applied for FA while undergoing elbow surgery.
The club that reached out at that time was NC. Lee Yong-chan, who played for NC for four seasons, first received a proposal from his original team NC this time. From the end of the year, NC presented the conditions with the explanation that `Lee Yong-chan is the player we need' and waited until the end of the year for the player's decision.
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Coach Lee Ho-joon also encouraged Lee Yong-chan, saying, `I think I can do well as a starter, so prepare well.' Lee Yong-chan is also preparing again, taking advantage of his old memories of playing as a starter.
In the spring camp in Tucson, Arizona, the U.S., Lee Yong-chan has been pitching the bullpen day after day. He has already pitched in the bullpen three times in February. The last 1st and 2nd were two days in a row. It's a much faster pace than other pitchers, which is Lee Yong-chan's routine as a starter. He throws a lot of balls from the beginning of the camp and quickly raises his pace.
In a way, it's also the style of 'Old School'. Lee Yong-chan said, `These days, kids don't throw at me. If I did that at that time, I would have been scolded by the coach. I threw a lot from the beginning while being scolded by coaches. Of course, I'm going to look at my physical condition and do it,' he said. Since the beginning of the camp, his physical condition has risen faster than expected, and he is actively working on the bullpen pitching schedule.
To play as a starting pitcher, you have to survive the competition first. Except for two foreign players, NC's domestic starters are still unknown. Koo Chang-mo is scheduled to return after being discharged from the military, but there are players with surgical history such as Shin Min-hyuk and Kim Young-kyu, and prospective players who still need to be verified have question marks. In order for Lee Yong-chan to win a spot in the rotation over his younger juniors, he must make a stable pitch with experience and records from the beginning.
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He, who is in the same class as the league's best veteran pitchers such as SSG Kim Kwang-hyun and KIA Yang Hyun-jong, is also determined that he cannot face the second half of his professional life as it is.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
