Rookie pitcher KT Won Sang-hyun's ups and downs

Meditation training to improve Ilheeilbi personality “I will try to become a real professional.”

Won Sang-hyun fights back

It is very difficult for a rookie player, especially a pitcher who has just graduated from high school, to succeed as a starting pitcher in the year of his debut in professional baseball.

Aside from the difference in skill between the opponents, it is difficult to maintain physical strength due to the non-stop schedule and travel across the country.

In the KBO League, the last high school pitcher who played regulation innings and won Rookie of the Year in his first year as a professional was Hyun-jin Ryu (Hanwha Eagles) in 2006.

KT Wiz’s rookie pitcher Won Sang-hyeon (19), a high school graduate, also feels firsthand the difference between professionals and amateurs.

Won Sang-hyeon, who graduated from Busan High School and joined KT this year, caught the eye of KT coach Lee Kang-cheol and joined the starting rotation from the opening game.

The results so far are not bad. He started a total of 9 games as the team’s ‘5th starter’ and achieved a record of 2 wins, 4 losses, and an average ERA of 7.30.

Although the performance on the surface is ordinary, it is meaningful because it was achieved while KT’s starting pitchers were injured.

Recently, he has played a brilliant game.

He started against the Hanwha Eagles on April 25th and recorded his first quality start (less than 3 earned runs in 6 innings) with 6 scoreless innings, and pitched against the Samsung Lions on the 23rd of this month, allowing 1 run in 5 innings.

However, Won Sang-hyun held out his tongue, saying that the professional stage is completely different from high school.

Won Sang-hyun, whom we met at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 24th, said, “I am definitely feeling that the professional stage is difficult,” and added, “When I first joined KT, my weight was 85 kg, but now it has decreased to 73 kg.”

He added, “When I first joined the professional ranks, I heard a lot of advice from people around me that I needed to manage my weight well, but it wasn’t easy. I guess I adjusted my diet incorrectly, but I lost a lot of weight.”

He continued, “At the beginning of the season, I threw lightly at a speed of 150 km/h, but now I have to grit my teeth to throw it. I am feeling the difficulties of the professional stage.”

There are countless other things needed on the professional stage besides body care.

Won Sang-hyun is making great efforts these days to correct his fiery personality.

He said, “When I was in high school, I was so excited that I was full of energy, so I got on the mound and threw fastballs, but this kind of personality became toxic in my professional life,” and “At the beginning of this season, I had a hard time because my control was often shaken because of my eccentric mind.”

KT also appointed mental coach Ahn Young-myeong as a dedicated mental coach in order to refine the ‘stone in the rough’ Won Sang-hyeon.

Won Sang-hyun said, “Coach Ahn often showed me old videos of Ryu Hyun-jin,” and “Senior Ryu Hyun-jin never loses his composure no matter what situation happens in a game in which he starts. Coach Ahn said that to become a true pitcher, you need to watch senior Ryu Hyun-jin. “He advised me that I needed the strength to suppress my boiling heart,” he said.

Recently, I started meditating after receiving advice from Coach Ahn.

He said, “I’m learning a lot, and I feel like I’m growing.”

Won Sang-hyeon, who grows up through ups and downs, dreams of becoming a ‘professional professional.’

He said, “It’s difficult now, but the series of courses will be a great experience for me,” and “I will continue to work hard to become a true professional athlete.” 스포츠토토