At the end of this month, right after the Lunar New Year holiday, 10 KBO league teams are leaving for overseas spring camp. Some teams have already started their squad. Star News publishes a series of interviews with new faces, such as transfer students and rookies, who greet the camp with more determination than anyone else. /Sports Bureau
① ‘KT Man’ Sang-soo Kim “It’s the first time I’ve left Daegu, coach Lee Kang-cheol made a sincere decision”
② ‘He touched the ball in 3 months’ Young-cheol Yoon “He has a light arm and can stretch the ball well”
③ ‘Doosan → Lotte’ Myung-jun Yoon “All The season, maybe the last…”
Veteran pitcher Yoon Myeong-jun (34), who left Doosan and started anew at Lotte, expressed his feelings about the 2023 season.
In a recent interview with Star News, Myung-Jun Yoon said, “When February 1st (Spring Camp begins), I am always excited and nervous.”
On the 20th, the Lotte pitching team departed for Guam, the United States, the spring camp site, through Gimhae International Airport more than 10 days earlier than other players. Yoon Myeong-jun also left with the players even in the midst of a hectic situation due to moving.
He has a different feeling of preparing for the season overseas after a long time. Yoon Myung-jun, who confessed his excitement, expressed his wish, “I hope he builds his body as well as he does overseas, so that he can come out in good shape during the season.”
After graduating from Gwangju Dongseong High School and Korea University, Yoon Myeong-jun, who joined Doosan with the 6th overall pick in the 1st round of the 2012 rookie draft, appeared in 389 games, 28 wins, 13 losses, 15 saves, 63 holds, and an average ERA of 4. 43. He has been active in Doosan’s bullpen for several years, achieving three seasons of 10 holds or more.
However, last year, he only played 20 games, and his ERA rose to 8.46. It was a season in which it was possible to obtain FA (free agent) qualifications if the number of registration days was met, but rather, the grades fell. Yoon Myung-jun said, “Personally, it was the most disappointing season,” and looked back, “I had many thoughts and it was difficult.”
As young players such as Jeong Cheol-won (24) came up, Yoon Myung-joon’s chances diminished, and he was eventually released from Doosan after the season. He confessed, “After playing for more than 10 years in the same team, it is difficult for him to leave.” 메이저사이트
It was Lotte who held Yoon Myung-jun’s hand. Lotte, which collected players to be released in the plan of general manager Seong Min-gyu (41), who declared ‘winning baseball’ in the 4th season as general manager, decided to recruit Yoon Myung-jun. He chose to go to Busan with Kim Sang-soo (36), Cha Woo-chan (36), and Shin Jeong-rak (36).
Upon hearing Lotte’s recruitment offer, Yoon Myeong-jun said, “I was very grateful.” He said, “I went to (Lotte) and thought about how I could help.” He then expressed his wish, “I want to help the team win,” saying, “Because it’s a team sport, no one is unnecessary.”
Fortunately, Lotte has players who can help Yoon Myung-jun adapt to the team. Noh Jin-hyeok (34), an alumnus of Gwangju Dongseong High School, transferred ahead of this season, and Kim Won-joong (30) is a high school junior. Koo Seung-min (33) and Moon Gyeong-chan (31) were the senior members of Yoon Myung-jun’s senior baseball team. In addition, pitching coach Bae Young-soo (42) and outfielder Ahn Kwon-soo (30) moved from Doosan to Lotte together with him.
As he started the season with a new mindset, Yoon Myung-jun built his body with a desperate mind ahead of the camp. “It’s an off-season, but I continued to exercise,” he said. “It may be the last season for me.”
This year, Myungjun Yoon has no personal goals in his head. He said, “Each player has a role to play,” and pledged, “I want to help the team by playing that role.” “I haven’t thought about any personal goals yet,” he said.