“I don’t think I have a position yet.”
Kim Hwijip of Kiwoom Heroes is a fascinating player. He’s still young at 22, but has developed into the team’s starting shortstop. He hasn’t been a perfect starter, but he’s already played two full seasons and gained experience. After last season, he was named to the Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) squad and earned his first cap.
Why he’s attractive: He’s a great hitter. He has punching power. His swing is crisp and powerful. He hit eight home runs in back-to-back seasons. He still needs to work on his defense, but he has enough power to clear the fence if he gets caught. He is reminiscent of Kang Jeong-ho and Kim Ha-seong, who followed in the Heroes shortstop lineage. As he gains experience and skill, we can expect more than 20 home runs.
Of course, he’ll need to improve his defense if he wants to become a “national ball star”.
It’s one thing for a shortstop to have a good bat, but defense is the foundation. Kang Jung-ho had very strong shoulders. He could play spectacular defense. Kim Hae-sung did everything well, with no particular deficiencies in his throwing or fielding range. Kim Hui-jip, on the other hand, has average shoulders and is not yet reliable in clutch situations. He also has a history of making costly mistakes in important matches. 카지노사이트 He needs to shake off the trauma of that experience to reach the next level.
He has a strong challenge ahead of him this season. Senior Kim Hye-sung, who won back-to-back Golden Gloves as a shortstop and second baseman, openly wanted to return to shortstop. Kiwoom moved him to second base to compensate for his weakness in the outfield, and while it was a success for the team, Kim Hye-sung, who hopes to enter the major leagues after this season, declared that he wanted to play shortstop to improve his value.
Of course, it remains to be seen if manager Hong Won-ki will use Kim at shortstop. For now, he left the door open by saying, “We’ll see in spring training.” However, he advised her to be more assured at second base.
For Hong to solidify this idea, Kim will need to show an upgrade in defense.
“I learned how to play a stable season, how to manage my body, how to manage my mind, etc. I think I also got better at bat and fighting with the pitcher. Based on my experience last season, I have already set a direction for how I need to improve,” he said.
“As soon as I finished the APBC, I started my personal training. When I went to international competitions, I realized that I could learn a lot from watching the training of other players. My motto for this off-season is ‘Keep my promises to myself. I’m trying to make sure that I do my planned workouts.”
Kim Hye-sung’s decision to return to shortstop could be a sensitive issue for a junior who is just finding her feet. However, Kim said, “I’m not thinking about position issues. I’m only thinking about how I can improve my defense,” she said, adding, “I don’t think I have a position yet. Every year, I’m competing again from the starting point.”
Kim is actually capable of playing every position in the infield except first base, not just shortstop. “Each position has slightly different things to worry about, but I think the big picture is the same. If you do the basics well, you’ll be confident in any position. I have a lot of older brothers in the infield that I look up to. I’m just grateful to be able to play with them and learn from them. I want to be a great player like our seniors, and I want to do well so that our fans can smile more than last year and be happy,” he concluded.