When asked for the name of a player, KIA coach Kim Jong-guk smiled and replied without hesitation, “You can join from June 14th.” Perhaps director Kim is not the only one who remembers the date. It is more accurate to say that both KIA officials and KIA fans are waiting for this time to come soon.
The protagonist of the date, which even coach Kim memorizes, is Choi Won-joon (26), an outfielder who is currently serving his military service in the Armed Forces Sports Unit (Sangmu). Choi Won-jun, who enlisted before last season, is scheduled to be discharged in June of this year, and if there are no special problems with his body, it is likely that he will join the first team immediately.
Players returning from military service should not only check their condition and skills, but also comprehensively review their sense of practice as they have not played in the first team for a long time. As there are still four months left, there are few players who can guarantee a return to the first team right away. However, Wonjun Choi is different. The reason we can already talk about this is because the team’s expectations for Choi Won-joon are so high, and Choi Won-joon has fully proved this during his military service.
Choi Won-joon, who joined the KIA in 2016 (3rd place in the 2nd round, 1st round), is evaluated as a standard player in rebuilding the team beast and is a key prospect who played 543 games in the first team before enlisting. In 2021, the season just before his enlistment, he played 143 games and recorded a batting average of 0.295, 4 homers, 44 RBIs, and 40 stolen bases. Here, he was the best hitter in the Futures League last year. He is not just a promising prospect, but a solid first-team power. He naturally comes to the discharge, so he has no choice but to wait impatiently.
Coach Kim, who had seen Choi Won-joon since his rookie days when he was a coach at KIA, was also confident, “When Choi Won-joon comes in, he will help the team.” He can see all outfield positions and is a resource that can definitely upgrade the team’s mobility, which was biased towards a specific player. Given his sophistication, he can use his카지노사이트 all-around key even in the batting order.
In the early days of his joining, there was no clear position of his own. He saw both the infield and the outfield. Coach Kim thinks he will fix it in the outfield. The topic of KIA’s spring camp this year is strengthening the player base. Last year, because the field players were weak, the dependence on the main players was high, and naturally, I remember that the team’s performance fluctuated greatly depending on the players’ condition graph. This year, if not the leap to the starting lineup, at least a lot of players who will be responsible for the resting time of the key players should come out. That is why the addition of Choi Won-joon, who can become a starter, is more precious.
Coach Kim presupposes, “I look forward to it, but good players will come out anyway,” but “Lee Chang-jin was also good, but if Choi Won-joon comes up, the outfield player base will be much thicker. It is possible. When Choi Won-joon comes, he will compete for two positions in the outfield.” Before and after June 14, the KIA outfield landscape may change considerably. He is a player who has such a ripple effect. Not everyone is waiting for nothing.