‘2014 Kang Jung-ho’s Great Leap’ and director Yeom Gyeong-yeop’s ‘Beast 120 Game Theory’
In 2023, LG is overflowing with beasts. Bench members are also competitive enough to be classified as starting players.
There are only 5 outfielders in the first team. A new foreign batter, Austin Dean, joins Kim Hyun-soo, Park Hae-min, Hong Chang-ki, and Moon Seong-joo. Even if one out of three outfielders plays as the designated hitter, the other one must start the game from the bench.
In the infield, Oh Ji-hwan (shortstop), Seo Geon-chang (2nd baseman), Moon Bo-gyeong (3rd baseman), and Lee Jae-won (1st baseman) prepared for the season as starting pitchers, Son Ho-young as shortstop backup, and Song Chan-eui as second and first baseman backup. are catching up As a third baseman backup, veteran Kim Min-seong is preparing.
LG coach Yeom Gyeong-yeop is calculating to create a virtuous cycle for the fielding team by adjusting the number of games played each season. At this point, it seems necessary to understand the players who are clearly classified as starting players among the first team players.
For example, Kim Hyun-soo is a veteran, but has an exceptionally strong will to participate in the game. From 2019 to last year, he played more than 140 games for 4 consecutive years. Also, it is known that Kim Hyun-soo prefers to play as a left fielder rather than a designated hitter.
In the current 144 game system, coach Yeom sees the number of games in which first-team players can display their best skills at around 120 games. Regarding this, “As a result, it is beneficial to the player himself and to the team when each player produces the best performance. I don’t think there’s any reason anyone should reject something that’s good for everyone.”
If coach Yeom’s ‘120 game theory’ is applied, no one among the top 5 players in LG’s outfield will play more than 130 games. Conversely, it is unlikely that anyone will play in less than 100 games.
It was the 2014 Kang Jeong-ho (then Nexen Heroes) case that Yeom presented as a ‘model’ in an interview with a reporter right before leaving for the spring camp at the end of last month. 안전놀이터
Jungho Kang made a revolutionary record change between 2013 and 2014. Kang Jung-ho, who played an active role in 2013 with a batting average of 0.291, 131 hits, 22 home runs, and 96 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.876, was illuminated with grades that were ‘incomparable’ at all in 2014. He had a batting average of 0.356, 149 hits, 40 homers, 117 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.198, leaving records that could only be found in baseball cartoons. Kang Jung-ho’s destination for the next season was Major League Pittsburgh.
Director Yeom, who was the Heroes’ command tower at the time, said, “Kang Jeong-ho’s season performance did not change significantly due to technical changes within a year. The biggest change was in controlling the number of games,” he said.
In fact, Kang Jung-ho played in 126 games in 2013, but in 2014, he only appeared in 117 games, nine fewer than that, while significantly increasing his hits, home runs, and RBIs.
Looking at this background, it seems possible to guess how LG’s field management is used this year. Maybe this is also the culture of the team. It may be a part that requires communication and understanding between the coach and players, and ‘confidence’.