“This is my first time coming to the US.”
LG Twins coach Yeom Kyung-yeop is busy looking for new faces at spring training in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA.
Last season, he relieved his team of winning the championship for the first time in 29 years, but Coach Yeom is still hungry. LG is confident that it can build a dynasty.
There are requirements for building a dynasty. The main players must do well as well, but the team’s ‘depth’ must be thick to be able to run the season healthily without any problems. Therefore, Coach Yeom wants to focus on training backup fielders such as Kim Seong-jin and Kim Min-su and develop them into starting players. They are called ‘Men of Flame’.
‘Man of Flame’ Part 3. This time it’s a pitcher. Manager Yeom showed a satisfied reaction after watching a pitcher’s live pitching on the 21st (Korean time). Director Yeom publicly declared, “I want to raise it properly.” Who is the pitcher chosen by ‘Yeom Gal-ryang’?
The main character is Lee Jong-jun. It is an unfamiliar name to baseball fans. There isn’t even a first-team pitching record. But why did Coach Yeom choose this unknown player?
Jongjun Lee transferred from NC Dinos to LG through the second draft last winter. He is a young player born in 2001 who graduated from Gunsan Commercial High School and was selected in the 2nd 9th round of 2020. He has no record. He had elbow surgery and focused only on rehabilitation.
But an unexpected turning point in his life came. He pitched two perfect innings against LG in the educational league last year. LG actually didn’t know much about pitcher Lee Jong-jun, but he said he fell in love with him after watching the game. So, he was nominated for the second draft, but the rumor is that NC, caught off guard, let out a sigh. This means that NC was also preparing to grow into a ‘dark horse’.
LG will have to face the new season without key bullpen players Ko Woo-seok, Ham Deok-ju, and Lee Jeong-yong. So Coach Yeom is focusing on finding the new Phil Seung-jo and the bullpen. Meanwhile, there are signs that Lee Jong-jun is shaking up the situation. Coach Yeom gave a thumbs up to the sight of a player with no first-team experience courageously throwing the ball even against pinch hitter Kim Hyun-soo.
Lee Jong-jun, whom we met at the camp, smiled brightly and said, “It’s my first time joining the first team camp. It’s my first time working out in such a warm place. It’s my first time coming to the U.S. too. I love it.”
Lee Jong-jun responded to Manager Yeom’s positive evaluation by saying, “I had no idea. I have a style where the ball curves toward the body of a right-handed hitter. I think he saw that as a strength. I can throw a fastball close to 150 km. I hear that all of his breaking balls are also decent. “Even though he was embarrassed, he made sure to make his ‘appeal.’
Lee Jong-jun is very tall at 1m91. However, his shoulder hurt so he lowered his arm and threw the ball. However, through luck, a ‘weapon’ was created that naturally bends the ball. It’s literally a phone call. LG was the team with the thickest bullpen in the league. It was not easy for any player to survive in LG. But as fate would have it, there were a lot of empty seats in the bullpen. Will this move to LG be another turning point in Lee Jong-jun’s baseball life? It’s a good start.
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