‘900 million arms’. It is a label that always follows Jang Jae-young (Kiwoom).
As shown in the down payment, the club has high expectations for Jang Jae-young. However, along with his potential as a fastball pitcher, he was unable to reach his full potential for two years after joining the team due to chronic anxiety about pitching.
Playing in the Australian league as a member of Geelong Korea, Jaeyoung Jang had a new experience. “Two-hutter” like Ohtani.
As in high school, I played as a hitter as well as a pitcher, and my results on the mound improved. He pitched 30 innings, striking out 37 while giving up just 9 walks. This was the greatest harvest.
Even in Arizona, Jang Jae-young’s two-handed batting practice, the so-called ‘double sword’, continues. I set a date and do pitcher training and fielder training at the same time.
Kiwoom’s experiments resulting from the Australian league, of course, focus on ‘pitcher Jang Jae-young’. It’s a way to learn how to throw from the mound while testing batting.
The following is a question-and-answer session with Jang Jae-young, who is training as a pitcher and hitter in Arizona’s spring camp.
Q. What do you think of the club’s offer to double as a pitcher?
I am grateful to the team and the coach for opening so many references. Anyway, as a pitcher, my greed is strong, so I train more with a pitcher’s focus. In fact, I’m thinking about ’80~90%’ of pitchers.
Q. Isn’t it difficult to combine pitcher training and hitter training?
This is the first time I’ve tried double batting in the pro world, so I think I need to adapt to a new environment or training schedule. I have to be more diligent than other players to be able to spend every sport. I try to sleep as much as possible, and I try to eat a lot. The fielder training time is a little longer on the schedule, but I focus more on pitcher training. In the field, the amount of practice is still insufficient, so we are trying to compensate for that.
Q. Do you feel under pressure to receive attention as a two-time pitcher?
No stress. Although the club has opened up the possibility, I think if I show myself a little better throwing as a pitcher, viewers will also be interested in the pitcher’s side. Even in the clubhouse, since I’m under so much stress as a pitcher, I think they say that to relieve stress and hit the bat. When I went into bat in Australia, the pitcher was very helpful with the ball combination and things like that. I believe that training is diversified to become a better pitcher.
Q. How was experience as a hitter a particular help to the pitcher?
I personally felt the reaction to the ball from the plate. I wasn’t sure just looking at the ball I threw because I couldn’t feel it. In a direct bat, I was able to be a little more sure of how the batsman would react to the inside ball and how he would react to the outside slider.
Q. What did you talk to your father (Jang Jeong-seok, general manager of KIA) about?
My father tells me to do what I want to do. Since I still have a lot of greed for pitching, I haven’t talked much about pitching. I will work hard to show you how to throw better as a pitcher, so I hope you will support me a lot.
