On the 5th (Korean time), which was a camp break day, LG coach Yeom Gyeong-yeop and batting coach Lee Ho-joon faced each other. The two talked for about an hour about a new hitter who took off last year. I wanted to respect the will of the player who chose to change, but the results shown in training were not good. After talking with the player, Manager Yeom and Coach Lee decided to recommend a return to the previous hitting mechanic.
The subject of conversation between manager Yeom and coach Lee was outfielder Moon Seong-joo (26). Moon Seong-joo played 390 at-bats in 106 games last year with a batting average of 0.303, 6 homers, 9 steals, 41 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.823. Although Hong Chang-ki left due to an injury, he appeared like a comet and went on base without rest. It was the moment when another Cinderella Man was born in LG.
However, Seongju Moon swung the bat in a different way at this camp. As the angle of the swing increased, the right hand was pointed high above his head after the swing. Anyone could see that he was conscious of the long hit and chose change.
Basically, coaches do not just oppose the direction the player wants. No matter how the results come out, if you think about it from the off-season and continue in the direction you practiced, there is definitely something to be gained. However, coach Yeom and coach Lee judged that Moon Seong-ju was taking on a reckless challenge. I already had a swing mechanic with a high degree of perfection, and I also produced results last year, but I saw that I chose a direction with low probability.
Coincidentally, on the 6th, Coach Lee and Coach Mo Chang-min gave special guidance to Moon Seong-ju. At this camp, LG is conducting special individual guidance with Coach Lee and another coach, focusing on promising players. Song Chan-eui on the 2nd, Moon Bo-kyung on the 3rd, and Lee Jae-won on the 4th were subject to special guidance. It’s not a strong training, but about 40 minutes of tea batting, having a deep conversation and setting the direction.
Prior to the start of the special guidance, Coach Lee told Moon Seong-ju, “I had a conversation with the coach about you for an hour yesterday. The director and I understand why you made the change. But the results don’t look good. I would like to hear your thoughts on this.” Moon Seong-joo said, “Both (Lee) Jae-won and (Song) Chan, who compete together, are hitters with long hitting power. I may not be able to show off my long hitting power as much as they do, but I still wanted to increase the proportion of long hitting. So during the off-season, I did a lot of weight and corrected my swing trajectory.”
For Moon Seong-ju, it was a change that could be made. It was the 2022 season when he announced his name, but his position in the team is the 4th and 5th outfielders. National team members Kim Hyun-soo and Park Hae-min, Hong Chang-ki, who won the 2021 Gold Glove Award for outfielder, and Austin Dean, a new foreign player, are in the outfield. From Moon Seong-ju’s point of view, he needs to show a much better performance than last year in order to become a starting player. And the development point for this was set as a long hit.
The problem is that the changed swing trajectory made Moon Seong-joo’s strength disappear. Moon Seong-joo is a hitter with both accuracy and pioneering vision. His swing trajectory is good, so his bat has a large area to hit the ball. In addition, he has an advantage in seeing the ball because the hitting point is behind. He is always a skill that can be expected to have a batting average in the 30% range and an on-base percentage in the 40% range, and it is a hitting mechanic that everyone envy and follow. However, Manager Yeom and Coach Lee diagnosed Sung-Joo Moon as trying to give up his strength. 슬롯사이트
So, Manager Yeom and Coach Lee emphasized the strengths of Sung-Joo Moon’s swing that he had shown before. Director Yeom saw Moon Seong-joo swinging again like last year and said, “It looks like Yelich. he has a nice form It’s really good,” he praised. Major League outfielder Christian Yelich, whom coach Yeom mentioned, is the player the LG coaching staff used as a model for batting. He won the National League MVP in 2018, and Yeom saved Yelich’s swing on his phone at the time. It swings the bat with a simple but strong rotation, and the area where the bat fits the ball is wide when hitting, making a fan-shaped fast in-play batted ball.
Moon Seong-joo, who listened to the explanations of the head coach and the coach in charge, finished the tee batting last year while returning to the swing mechanic. After training, he said, “Actually, I was lost. I have been wandering about my batting since the off-season, but it seems that the coach and coach have set the direction again,” he said. “There was also a psychological urgency. Our team’s outfield is the national team. Still, if I work hard in the direction I decided, I think an opportunity will come someday. I will continue to improve myself and will not miss the opportunity when it comes.”
In the current coaching concept of Yeom, Seong-Joo Moon is the player right after the starter. Basically, the lineup consists of left fielder Kim Hyeon-soo, center fielder Park Hae-min, right fielder Austin, and designated hitter Hong Chang-ki.
Manager Yeom said, “I’m thinking like this now, but no one knows what will happen during the season.” I can’t let it out even though I can see no hits in 4 at-bats. Moon Sung-joo is the first option in this situation. And if Moon Sung-joo does well, someone will take his place,” he emphasized to make the most of his outfield depth.
Moon Seong-joo said, “Still, I received 30 million won for showing last year, but my annual salary rose to 95 million won. But I can’t be satisfied with this. I want to do better this year and raise my voice in salary negotiations. I will hit a batting average of 3.3 this year,” he said, reaffirming his determination.