Two balls were enough. ‘Jamsil Big Boy’ Lee Jae-won (24, LG Twins) proved his potential.
Lee Jae-won is the ‘expectant’ of LG director Yeom Gyeong-yeop. Coach Yeom said at Arizona spring camp last February, “(Lee Jae-won) is more greedy than anyone else. He has the power to surpass Park Byung-ho (KT Wiz) when he was younger.” He is a player who can become a player. I hope he becomes Korea’s first baseman, not LG’s first baseman.” Comparing the home run king of the KBO League with Park Byeong-ho, who won six times, was a point where you could feel the level of expectations for him.
Lee Jae-won applied for Sangmu Baseball Team after last season. However, when manager Yeom Gyeong-yeop took office in November, he withdrew it. Director Yeom was attracted to Lee Jae-won, who had exceptional power potential. They needed a manager who would trust the players and appoint them. Lee Jae-won, who met with this magazine at the camp, said, “Even when he said in the interview that he would give me confidence and give me a chance (should I postpone my military service), I thought a lot. I thought about doing it,” he said.
Fans had high expectations of what Lee Jae-won would show. He was the one who hit 7 out of 13 homers last year at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul, befitting his nickname ‘Jamsil Big Boy’. I wondered how much power would come from his solid physique (1m92cm 100kg). However, he suffered a side injury at the end of the exhibition game and was unable to join the opening game.
His return to the first team was slow, and he was called up only on the 6th. His first six games batting average was just 0.083 (1-for-12). However, he made his first multi-hit (2 hits in 4 at-bats) against the Samsung Lions on the 14th. Then, on the 16th, against KT Wiz, he exploded his first multi-home run of the season (3 hits, 2 homers, 2 RBIs in 4 at-bats). He was no ordinary home run.토토사이트
His first home run in the 4th inning crossed the left fence with a launch angle of 26.9 degrees and an exit speed of 178.8 km/h. He was a ‘barrel hit’, meaning an ideal hit with a launch angle of 26 to 30 degrees and an exit velocity of over 98 miles per hour (157.7 km/h). The far-flung home run distance was 136m (based on Trackman). He also recorded 135m in Sports Two Eyes, boasting the longest distance among home runs (211 in total) this season. The second home run in the 7th inning was measured at a launch angle of 30.9 degrees and an exit speed of 174.8 km/h. Although his launch angle was rather high, he pumped it up and produced a distance of 121m. The total distance of two home runs reaches 257m.
Director Yeom Kyung-yeop tries to lighten Lee Jae-won’s burden. He mainly places in the 8th and 9th, bottom line. Director Yeom emphasizes that “there is a process to raising (players), such as raising (batting order) one level if you hit well.” As the director believes, Lee Jae-won is stretching himself little by little. As the number of balls in play increases, hits and home runs are being created.
Greed is not great. He puts down the burden and focuses only on hitting. He calmly said, “I think it is helpful to practice simple swings with batting coach Lee Ho-jun and Mo Chang-min since camp.