“The thing that had the biggest impact on my performance last year was my psychology.”
It is not only the uniform number that will change in 2023. What Choi Jun-yong (22, Lotte Giants) tried to change was his mindset. He is now in his fourth year as a professional who has tasted both success and failure. In 2021, with his first 20 holds in his debut, he rose to the ranks of top pitchers, but there were still so many things he hadn’t experienced. This is why the experience of last year, which showed his potential as a starting pitcher and went through as a finisher and setup man, is especially valuable. “I learned a lot,” he said, looking back.
One year after I realized how to get rid of thoughts in my head
Last year’s appearances were different. It was quite different from 2021, when he pitched in a situation within 3 points around the 8th inning. At the beginning of the season when Kim Won-joong left due to injury, he pitched 9 times as a finisher, but after that, he won with a large score difference or appeared even if it was not 7 or 8 innings. At the same time, he had to deal with the ups and downs. The decrease in restraint was also a factor to be taken care of. Choi Jun-yong said, “I tried to throw his arm down to increase the restraint. He was about 144 km per hour, but in one day he reached 154 km, but his arms were strained. He felt bad for himself, so he tried to do everything. 먹튀검증 After wandering around, I realized what I had to do.”
Last year was a lesson. Progress was evident in detailed indicators such as the strikeout/walk ratio (2.50 → 4.50), but I feel that consistency was necessary. He said, “There were not many times when I felt that it was actually good, apart from the results.” “Last year, my psychology was the biggest influence on my performance. If you have confidence, that image will come out on the mound. Previously, even in 0B-2S, I put a fastball in the middle saying, ‘If you want to hit it, hit it’, but last year I had a lot of thoughts. It seems that there was also a desire for the batter to be deceived. It’s a shame. This year, I will go my own way.”
New uniform number ’18’ chosen with determination
Choi Jun-yong received a new uniform with a new number. In the past, Kim Dae-woo, Park Se-woong, Lee In-bok, Yun Seong-bin, Hong Min-ki, and Kim Dong-woo wore this number. Number 56, which had been worn until last year, went back to Jeong Seong-jong, who was the owner before enlisting. Choi Jun-yong said, “Number 18 was a number I wanted to wear since I was a rookie, but it had a lot of meaning in Lotte. He heard that there were seniors who were hurt or had ups and downs. Maybe that’s why the seniors also stopped it (laughs). I’ll try to break it once. The more motivated you are, the more reason you have to do well,” he said. Even if you fail, you will gain something, and you will be able to do well because your motivation is strong.”