Hanwha has raked in its annual salary to go to the U.S. and even equipped with a new weapon. → Passion man gets scarier
Hanwha has raked in its annual salary to go to the U.S. and even equipped with a new weapon. → Passion man gets scarier
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Was there anyone who was not impressed by the tears that Hanwha Eagles' Lee Sang-kyu (29) shed last year? Lee was not satisfied with the tears and equipped with a new weapon. He will challenge full time in the first team.먹튀검증
Lee Sang-kyu conducted his personal training in the U.S. for a month from Dec. 16 to Jan. 17 last year. He visited a specialized baseball training center called "Tread Athlete" in North Carolina.
The move is aimed at individual training. It is already a famous center for players. Korean teams have also sent promising players for training. Notably, quite a few players have volunteered to train at the center this winter. Several pitchers including Lee Sang-kyu, Jung Woo-young (LG), and Choi Won-joon (Doosan) visited the center.
Lee Sang-gyu, who recently met at Melbourne Park, the site of Hanwha's spring camp, said, "It is famous in both Korea and the United States. I went there because I wanted to know what I thought and what the solution was."
Lee Sang-gyu's annual salary last year is 44 million won. It is not necessarily high. Despite this, he raked in money including his annual salary to fly to the U.S.
"For someone, it could be a small amount of money, and it depends on the annual salary. It's a big cost to me, so I decided to go with it. If I buy a plane ticket, I think it will be solved (toughly)," Lee said with a smile.
What kind of income did he earn? First of all, he said he designed pitching for individual players. There has also been an upgrade for the pitching model. "He designed the right pitching for individual players," Lee said. "That's where I learned how to design the sweeper. (The sweeper) to swing my arm," Lee said. "I learned how to throw it, but I think the coaches and the catcher brothers have definitely changed. I got feedback that it was a good idea."
There were more lessons. "I think I learned some life from how to deal with baseball, the preparation process, the routines, and the lives of the people there," Lee said.
Lee Sang-gyu, who joined LG as the 70th overall pick in the second seventh round in 2015, did not grow as much as expected, and his position became narrower. The ordeal of being demoted to a nurturing player came, but he didn't give up. Then, he had a chance. He moved to Hanwha through the second draft in November 2023. For Lee, the time has come for a new challenge.
After the first half of the season, Lee finally had a chance. He appeared in the Hanwha bullpen. Aug. 24 became an unforgettable day. Lee Sang-gyu, who took the mound in the ninth inning against the Doosan Bears, pitched two scoreless innings until the 10th inning, and became the winning pitcher for the first time in 1,553 days since the game against the Jamsil KT on May 24, 2020. He shed tears of emotion during an interview with the player after the game, and became a hot topic of conversation.
Since then, he had a chance to substitute. He has displayed potential. He has broadened his utilization value from starting pitcher to bullpen pitcher.
Lee Sang-kyu said, "I don't know if I can call it a good performance, but last year's experience was an opportunity to take me to the next level. I have to do better this year. I just have to do well."
His goal is to play full time in the first division. "My goal is to play in the first division until the end wherever I sit. If I continue to play in the first division, I would like to play 70 games. I think I have to play in a maximum of 80 games," Lee said.
If we go further, we want to secure a position in the must-win group. "If we don't have that much greed, we should go that far," Lee said. "It's hard to squeeze in (laughs) as all the starters are for the national team. I also want to try the must-win group."