Wow~' In January, 148km bam... King of Sidearm Hold has been sluggish for two years → Looking for a solution in the U.S. "Let's not rush it."

Wow~' In January, 148km bam... King of Sidearm Hold has been sluggish for two years → Looking for a solution in the U.S. "Let's not rush it."

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Will professional baseball LG Twins pitcher Jung Woo-young be able to rebound from the sluggishness of the last two years.스포츠토토

Before joining the spring camp, Jung tried to find a way to overcome his sluggishness through individual training at Tread Athletics in the U.S. He threw a fastball of up to 157 kilometers per hour when he became the hold king in 2022, but found it difficult to exceed 150 kilometers last year. His pitching balance collapsed, posting the worst record in his career.

He played in 67 games (58 innings) in 2022 with 2 wins, 3 losses and 35 holds and an ERA of 2.64, and posted an ERA of 5 wins, 6 losses and 11 holds and an ERA of 4.70 in 60 games (51 ⅔ innings) in 2023. And last year, he had a career-low season with only 27 games (22 ⅔ innings) with 2-1 losses and 3 holds and an ERA of 4.76.

Jung Woo-young had a personal training session at Tread Athletics in the U.S. from early December to mid-January last year. "I wanted to know more clearly what I had to do about my baseball for two years after the season ended, and what didn't suit me well, so I went to Tread Athletics to make sure that my baseball team was well established," he said.

I have been interested in advanced baseball since the season started. "I've been thinking about it for several years that I want to learn about advanced baseball in the U.S., and I wanted to keep going. I couldn't go to the WBC in March 2023 (after the 2023 season) due to bone fragment surgery, and I thought I should go there this time," Jung said. "Our coaches are good at teaching, but I was curious about what direction they teach in advanced baseball and the mainland baseball." That's why I've been watching Tread through SNS for a year. After visiting the training center late last year, I built up my body for about two weeks in Jamsil, came to the U.S., and trained on Tread for about six weeks."

Tread Athletics can receive consistent feedback throughout the year. Jung Woo-young said, "There is a separate application here, so if I send videos and data after playing, I like the part that gives feedback and manages the results every time, so I decided to go on Tread."

As much as the effort of a long time, I gained something. Jung Woo-young said, "In my first interview on the treadmill, I told him that I would find it difficult to raise the level 100 percent in the short term to produce results, and that I came here to find a form to throw strong balls again, and to correct my wrong thoughts. So, rather than getting results in the short term, I learned from what I learned here to focus on the parts that I can continue to fix throughout the season. I am still training with feedback."

It was helpful not only in technical areas such as pitching form but also in psychological areas as well. "The words 'don't rush' touched me the most," Jung said. "The coaches of Tread also felt sorry for me over the past two years. Just because my baseball is not going well doesn't mean I'm quitting it right now, so the words 'don't rush' by clearly grasping my problems as soon as possible," he said.

He also added, "Tread coaches saw me pull it up slowly without being impatient throughout my training period, and it was difficult to control myself, but they evaluated me very positively and supported me a lot."

While training at Tread Athletics, he has increased his pitching speed. "His pitching speed has increased a lot compared to the past two years. He has reached 92 miles (147-148 kilometers)," Jung said. Last year, his average pitching speed dropped to 145.2 kilometers.

Jung Woo-young changed his number, too. He wore No. 16 last year, but when he won the 2022 Hold King title, he came back to No. 18. "Rather than having a special resolution, I talked with (Baek) Seung-hyun about putting on the same number when the season was over and we all liked each other. At that time, Seung-hyun was using my number, so he offered to change it. I also wanted to change it, and I wanted to go back to when I liked it. Seung-hyun also had the same idea, so I changed it."

Jung Woo-young is slow in quick motion, so when the runner was on the first base, he had to pay attention to the pitch tempo because he was conscious of stealing second base. This year, pitch clock will be introduced to put pressure on pitchers. Jung Woo-young said, "I don't think there will be a problem with pitch clock because I experienced it at Hangzhou Asian Games. However, looking at the watch, I feel impatient, so I think it would be better to play without paying attention to it as much as possible. I think I can do it with the mind that I have 20-25 seconds, so I don't think there will be a big problem."

LG's closing pitcher Yoo Young-chan and left-hander Pilseungjo Ham Deok-ju underwent elbow surgery, making it difficult for them to take the mound in the first half of the year. Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop is considering rehabilitation as much as possible and returning to the second half of the year. FA bullpen pitchers Jang Hyun-sik and Kim Kang-ryul have been recruited, and Jung Woo-young's rebound is also urgently needed.

Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop said, "Jung Woo-young is one of the key points in our bullpen this season. It hasn't been long since we started the camp, but I think we've been working out well during the off-season and I'm looking forward to it this season."

Jung Woo-young said, "I have to do really well this year, but I don't think I can go back to the time when I did a great job. But I think the first thing is to leave my ball and find confidence on the mound without feeling impatient with the mindset that I can go back to the better time."

Jung Woo-young pitched the bullpen twice on Wednesday and Thursday local time. He threw 15 times in his first bullpen session. In his second bullpen session, he threw 15 pitches, including 13 pitches and two curves. He pitched the maximum of 142.8 kilometers. "He pitched around 80 percent of the pitch. His stable ball control and arm height increased compared to the previous season. Overall, he showed good pitching," a source from LG said.