“(I) Seung-yeop will catch everything.” Daegu Samsung Lions Park on July 7. Na Seung-yeop’s name echoed through the infield as he practiced fungo.
The 2023 Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) squad, which convened and began training on May 5, is far from complete. The KBO’s postseason schedule is underway.
The lack of a full squad has led to some position concerns. 아톰카지노 도메인
The biggest concern is first base. Moon Bo-kyung, who played first base at the Asian Games, is currently participating in fall baseball with the LG Twins. Kang Baek-ho, another first base option, was ruled out with an adductor muscle injury during playoff preparations.
Ryu Jung-il, the head coach of the national team, started to organize traffic in their absence.
For now, Kim Do-young (KIA) is ready to play third base, and Noh Si-hwan, the Asian Games third baseman, has started practicing his defense at first base.
There is also a plan to utilize the reserve roster. Pitchers Cho Byung-hyun (SSG), Lee Byung-heon (Doosan), Kim Tae-kyung (Commerce), catcher Heo In-seo (Commerce), and infielders Han Tae-yang (Commerce), Na Seung-yup (Lotte), and Moon Hyun-bin (Hanwha) are training with the final roster. The plan is to make substitutions depending on physical condition and injuries.
Kang Baek-ho is out for the season, making it difficult for him to participate in the APBC. Ryu has another alternative first baseman in Na Seung-yeop (21-Lotte Giants).
Na Seung-yeop, who joined the Giants in the second round (11th overall) of the 2021 KBO Draft, recently returned from military service with the Sangmu Baseball Club. This year, he appeared in 84 games for the Sangsang, batting .301 with two doubles, five home runs, and an OPS of .869.
“It’s an honor to be able to train with the prospects of each team in the APBC tournament,” said Na Seung-yeop. “If I get to go, I think it will help me a lot in my future baseball career. Also, even though the season is over, it’s good to be able to keep the sense of the game.”
“In terms of batting, I focused on rotation training, and I also did a lot of defense training. I also improved my physical strength.”
After this season, Lotte made a major change by appointing Kim Tae-hyung as the new manager. “I trained (with Lotte) for about two days, but it was fun. The coach has changed a lot, so I needed time to adapt, but it went well for two days.”
There was no pressure to play first base, as he was confident that he had received enough defensive training at Sangsung. “I played first base at Sangsung. I also played first and third base at Lotte. I’m confident because I’ve been doing it for a long time. I’ve been doing it for two years, so there’s no pressure.”
In an exhibition game against Sangsung on Aug. 8, Na went 2-for-3 with one home run and one walk, including a home run off national team ace Moon Dong-joo.
“It’s my first adult national team, but there are a lot of good players and it’s fun to work out with them. I really want to go to Tokyo with them and do well.”
