▲ Park Ji-hwan, who has been making a strong impression every day since joining the first team ⓒSSG Landers ▲ Park Ji-hwan, SSG’s first choice in the first round of 2024, is exciting for the club with his potential excellent ⓒReporter Kwak Hye-mi
[스포티비뉴스=자이(타이완), 김태우 기자] SSG did not take new players to the first training camp in Florida in 2024. Last year, they took several top picks, including Lee Yoon Song Young-jin, but this year they returned to the club’s original stance. Instead, they quietly prepared themselves at the Ganghwa 2nd team facility and then sent them to the Future Team (2nd group) camp for more training.
As the 1st team finished the Florida camp and went to Chiayi, Taiwan, where the 2nd team camp was held, SSG coach Lee Soong-yong’s idea was to test players who showed good results in the 2nd team by moving them up to the team 1st. . He promised to upload it without delay if he received a recommendation from Future Team coach Son Si-heon. When Coach Lee arrived in Taiwan, the name of Park Ji-hwan (19), a first round pick in the 2024 rookie draft, was on Coach Son’s recommendation list.
Deep down, Coach Lee also wanted to see the talent of a promising prospect named Park Ji-hwan. Coach Lee also gave relatively high evaluation to Park Ji-hwan’s swing on Ganghwa Island before leaving the camp. SSG general manager Kim Jae-hyun also said, “He’s not the No. 1 outfielder for nothing. “He definitely has talent,” she said. However, he was not included in the strength of the first team. First of all, since rookies have many variables, it is difficult to classify these players as first team power constants. Director Lee also watched Park Ji-hwan with a conservative gaze. Perhaps the testing aspect would have been stronger when she was called up to the first team.
However, two days before the end of the Taiwan camp, Coach Lee said honestly, “I am worried about a player named Park Ji-hwan.” This is because he is showing a performance that exceeds coach Lee’s expectations. Park Ji-hwan’s participation in the exhibition match has not been decided yet, but it was not in the original plan, but now it has reached the stage where the plan is being checked. Coach Lee shows interest, saying that he clearly sees Park Ji-hwan’s potential not only in offense but also in defense and base running.
Coach Lee plans to play shortstop and third baseman on defense. If you can play multiple positions, your scope for experimentation will expand. I think the main force is not bad either. The advantage that attracts the most attention is, of course, hitting. A rookie out of high school who just joined the team shows clear potential to hit at an incredible level. There are so many advantages that he caught the eye of manager Lee, who made a name for himself as an excellent hitter during his career.
Coach Lee said, “Typically, hitters are not good at timing against pitchers they’ve never seen before. That’s why only pitchers hit well. “In the case of rookies, there is no timing, so it is often difficult to make a foul, let alone hit a ball in play,” he said. “But Park Ji-hwan’s timing is consistent.” He shows the ability to hold the ball against any pitcher. Any pitcher swings at a certain time. He explained his strengths by saying, “It means you have a good response and the ability to use your hands consistently, which means you know something and make your swing.”
Coach Lee continued, “Extremely talented players like Lee Jeong-hoo and Kang Baek-ho showed such skills when they were rookies, but that cannot be taught. “It’s the realm of talent,” he asserted, adding, “But I can see a bit of that in Ji-hwan Park as well. He needs to grow up to know, but if he can establish himself clearly, he will become an interesting player. The same goes for personality. During an interview, the high school graduate and rookie said in front of the first team coach, ‘I’m not nervous, but rather fun.’ The fight is good and I have high expectations. “I made a good body,” he said with a happy smile.
SSG’s first team will play its last practice game in Taiwan against Rakuten at the Chiayi City Baseball Stadium on the 6th. Manager Lee Park used Ji-hwan as the starting third baseman on this day. Manager Lee said, “I consider his usefulness, but he’s good in the third position as well,” and expressed his intention to decide Park Ji-hwan’s future schedule after the last test. Attention is being given to whether he will get a chance to show his abilities as an outfielder in the 2024 rookie draft, which was a pitching event.
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