It doesn’t come out as fast as I thought. However, the position and mindset became stronger. KIA Tigers closer Jung Hae-young (22) is firmly guarding the mound.
KIA won 4-3 in the match against the LG Twins held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 28th and won three consecutive victories. KIA, which got out of the early slump and recorded 10 wins and 11 losses, had a win rate of 50% in front of its eyes.
Even though it was a regular season game, the atmosphere was hot. Over the weekend, KIA fans who visited Jamsil for the first time in the season and 22,695 LG fans who ran in the lead almost filled the stadium. It rained from the middle, but there were more spectators who stayed in the stands until the end. Gyeonggi-do was fierce. The match was played in overtime with the score 3-3.
KIA coach Kim Jong-guk put Jeong Hae-young on the mound in the 10th inning. He was determined to catch the game somehow. Jung Hae-young did not betray the trust of the bench. At the end of the 10th inning, after one out, he was hit by Shin Min-jae and gave up a stolen second base, but blocked it without conceding a run.
In the 11th inning, which took the lead with Lee Chang-jin’s sacrifice fly, lead batter Seo Geon-chang was allowed a hit, but Park Hae-min was caught on a foul fly at first base, and Hong Chang-ki’s straight hit to second baseman led to a double play and kept the victory. He recorded his 2nd win of the season with 2 hits and no runs in 2 innings. His season ERA went down from 3.72 to 3.08.
KIA colleagues hugged Jung Hae-young and poured out compliments saying, “You did a good job” and “You worked hard.” It was because his climbing was not easy enough that he had to change the rosin several times because of the thick rain. However, he stayed focused until the end and kept the victory. Jeong Hae-young explained, “The 10th inning was fine, but the 11th didn’t strike. He threw it with the mindset that if he could hit it, he would hit it, and the ball seemed to be heading in front of the defense.”
Jeong Hae-young said, “(After throwing the 10th inning) the coach said, ‘It’s over. But don’t relax,’ so I prepared it. In fact, I got a hit from the lead batter (it was hard) and said, “I didn’t have to score ahead or tie the score. “It’s the same, so the burden is similar,” he said. “I have a bad memory of throwing multi-innings against Doosan (8th, 1 and 1/3 innings, 2 runs saved). I’m trying to think of only good memories for today.” LG has been actively playing base
base play lately. Jung Hae-young said, “From the time I analyzed power before the game, I said that LG runs well and steals a lot, so it’s okay to have a lot of checks. I think I did too many checks.” .
Jung Hae-young posted 30 saves for the second year in a row. However, he was uneasy about starting this season. He even blew the team victory because his restraint didn’t come up like he thought. His fastball average last season was 144.6 km/h, but this year it has stayed at 141.2 km/h. Still, coach Kim Jong-guk continued to trust Jung Hae-young, saying, “Our team is the number one finisher.”
Jung Hae-young said, “I honestly care about speed. I admit that I don’t get speed and I think I have to fight the batter with a different pattern. As you can see, it’s not normal, and I’m trying to find a balance. The defense helped me a lot. I thought of blocking it for the sake of the team rather than satisfaction.” Still, the pitch is clearly improving little by little. Jeong Hae-young said, “Because the pitch is good, it seems to go to the front of the defense even if it hits well. It seems that the improved pitch is helpful. The defense also helps a lot 메이저사이트.”
Jung Hae-young, who joined in 2020, has grown into a key player by taking on the closer in two years. That’s how much he cares about his own sluggishness. Jeong Hae-young said, “I’m so sorry. If I was in my usual condition, I would have watched the game from the bench more comfortably, but I feel very sorry. All the hyungs and coaches worry about me a lot. Especially (Yang) Hyeon-jong worries about me. .I realized that the hyungs care about me more than I thought. I’m going to find them, so I’m looking for answers while watching the video.”