“I want to light a fire one last time.”
It has been two years since he gave up his dream that he had barely held on to for 10 years. But his last regret remained.
Tae-seung Jeong, the pitching coach of the Lotte Giants’ remaining army, will return to active duty as a “playing coach” in the 2023 season.
He is the left-handed pitcher Lotte needs. Among the registered players this season, the only left-handed pitchers are Charlie Barnes, Kim Jin-wook, Cha Woo-chan, and rookie Lee Tae-yeon. Even if unregistered players are added, Jo Jun-hyeok and Jang Se-jin, who are also newcomers, are only added.
Coach Jeong Tae-seung led Yu Shin High School to a runner-up in the Golden Lion, and during Sungkyunkwan University, he also competed as a representative for the World University Baseball Championship. He was noted as a left-handed pitcher with excellent pitches. However, he was not nominated due to an elbow injury, and in 2012 he wore a Lotte uniform as a reported player.
In the 2019-2020 season, he participated in Geelong Korea, posting an average ERA of 3.22 in 20 games and 22⅓ innings, and played an active part in the winning group. He was also named Spring Camp MVP.
Group 1 did not achieve a clear result in the end. His first-team career performance is only 8 games, 7⅔ innings, and an earned run average of 12.91. He eventually announced his retirement after the 2021 season. The match against the Samsung Lions on July 17, 2020, where he scored 4 runs in 1⅔ innings, will be the only first-team appearance of the year and the last game of his career.
The earnest dream that I had held on to for 10 years remained as a lingering lingering feeling. While working as a rehabilitation coach for the remaining military for a year, he gave up his last courage when his fastball restraint reached 148 km. He sought advice from coach Bae Young-soo ahead of this year’s spring camp, and became a registered player along with the transition to playing coach.
Pitching coach Bae Young-soo, whom I met before leaving for Guam to join the World Baseball Classic (WBC) national team, replied, “I asked the club about my intention and asked the club to switch to playing coach.” 온라인바카라
“(Jeong) Taeseung-ah, are you confident? Can you throw a strike?” and he said, “I’ll burn the fire one last time.” The word ‘I’m sorry’ touched me. He told me to do well because he granted my last wish.”
Maybe it was the lack of left-handed pitchers in the team. Coach Bae explained, “I just saw Jeong Tae-seung’s potential, but I don’t really have that concern. There are left-handed hitters who can hit better against left-handed hitters. A left-handed pitcher isn’t necessary to deal with left-handed hitters.”