Among the 30 players selected for the World Baseball Classic (WBC) baseball team to be held in March, one of the unexpected players was veteran Lee Ji-young (Kiwoom), who was selected as a backup catcher. If Yang Eui-ji (Doosan), who was selected as the main catcher, was a card that anyone could pick first, Lee Ji-young, who was selected as the backup catcher, was not a strong candidate initially.
In fact, if you look at the catchers who heated up the FA (free agent) market at the end of last year, Lotte Yu Kang-nam (4 years, 8 billion won), who ranked second in terms of ransom value after Yang Eui-ji (6 years, 15.2 billion won), and LG, who came in third. Park Dong-won (4 years, 6.5 billion won) should have been closer to the national team candidates.
However, the technical committee of the baseball team chose Lee Ji-young, who had a slightly higher evaluation in terms of stability in defense. It seemed that the depth of experience was also considered due to the nature of being a backup catcher in tournaments. In fact, Yoo Kang-nam and Park Dong-won have their own strengths as catchers. Yoo Gang-nam is evaluated as the best in framing ability, and Park Dong-won is recognized for his competitiveness in stealing ability. Still, he can’t help but feel sorry for not being able to wear the Taegeuk mark. So this season seems to be able to focus a little more on proving the value of each.
In fact, both catchers have strengths of their own in terms of offense, while being strong in good hardware. In the new team, expectations may be greater in terms of offense. One of the points to watch is the ‘compatibility’ of the two catchers with the newly entered home stadium.
At least, Yoo Kang-nam performed better at the new Sajik Stadium than at Jamsil, which he used as his home stadium for a long time. He has played in 35 games at Sajik Stadium over the past five years, posting a batting average of 0.301 (34 hits in 113 at-bats), 3 home runs and 18 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.778. During the same period, Yoo Kang-nam played 372 games at Jamsil Stadium, with a batting average of 0.247 and an OPS of 0.696, which was not very good. 메이저놀이터
Of course, there are variables to consider in these records. The point is that Yoo Kang-nam only dealt with Lotte at Sajik Stadium. The fact that the distance between the fences of Sajik Stadium has increased since last year is also a change. However, Yoo Kang-nam met Lotte in Jamsil for the last 5 years and played very poorly with a batting average of 0.214 (22 hits in 103 at-bats) in 35 games. This is the reason why he pays more attention to the ‘compatibility’ with Sajik Stadium rather than the relativity with Lotte.
Lotte is also preparing for the first season without Lee Dae-ho, a right-handed hitter who has been in a symbolic position for the team for a long time. It is a structure in which Yoo Gang-nam, who will protect the right-handed batter, has a bigger role to solve as a hitter.
In an interview on the 4th, Park Dong-won said, “Jamsil Stadium is good because there are many opportunities to hit doubles. I am thinking positively,” he said. In fact, Park Dong-won hit without being conscious of the size of Jamsil Stadium, the largest in Korea.
In fact, Park Dong-won recorded an OPS of 0.783 with a batting average of 0.257 over the past five years, and during the same periodAt Jamsil Stadium, he appeared in 55 games and posted a batting average of 0.252 (38 hits in 151 at-bats) and an OPS of 0.862, showing strength in slugging power. He had 9 doubles and 9 home runs, which was the background that could raise OPS. The opponents Park Dong-won met in Jamsil were LG and Doosan, and both teams had above-average pitching during the same period. LG ranked first with an ERA of 4.08 over the past five years, and Doosan ranked fourth with an ERA of 4.30. This is why we can expect Park Dong-won’s performance at Jamsil Stadium.