"If there's a first baseman that feels like Park Byung-ho..." KIA Lee, the only player nagging by Kkotbumho, is 2025 crisis and opportunity
"If there's a first baseman that feels like Park Byung-ho..." KIA Lee, the only player nagging by Kkotbumho, is 2025 crisis and opportunity
Blog Article
"Now is not the time for that, but I have to get a seat...”
The way KIA Tigers coach Lee Bum-ho treats his players and his leadership are basically similar to those of former coach Kim Ki-tae. In fact, he did not deny it and confessed several times that he was influenced a lot. He helps players to display their best performance by siding with the players as much as possible.
Manager Lee Bum-ho is the only player who nags at him. He is Byun Woo-hyuk (24), a right-handed corner infielder. As the first nominee of the Hanwha Eagles in 2019, he joined the pro league with high expectations. He was traded to Kia after the 2022 season, and played for two years. He had a batting average of 0.304 with five home runs, 21 RBIs and an OPS of 0.839, in 69 games this season.
Although the number of games played and the number of registered days for the first team decreased compared to last year, the team's position has become clearer. It was a season where he fully established himself as a backup infielder at the corners of the first and third bases. It is a big hit, but even if he does not meet the requirements, it is his own income that he scored 30% of average.
He has yet to fully realize his potential as a slugger. However, he is clearly making progress little by little. He has already finished his military service and has maintained his defense capability. He seems to be able to do better if he adds something more. Coach Lee Bum-ho nags such Byun Woo-hyuk. During this season, he once said that he needs to focus more on important situations and produce good results after hitting a home run.
Coach Lee Bum-ho revealed the reason ahead of the sports reporter's night award ceremony on the 11th. "Woo Hyuk has a gentle personality and he is a little angry. But if he leaves it still, he is just frozen. I think, 'It's not the time for that, but I need to get a seat.' He is also doing a good job defending the first base, and he said, "I don't feel like Park Byung-ho yet, but it would be great to have a first baseman who feels like Park Byung-ho."
In the end, coach Lee Bum-ho wants Byun to be more greedy than he is now. "I don't see him trying to do more. So it feels like he's trying to be in that position. I hope he thinks I have to take this position somehow…So I said, "You can't just come and go. Good things are good things, and you have to change things that you can change."
After hearing the news from Lee Bum-ho, Kia recruited Patrick Wisdom, a new foreign hitter. According to Lee's basic plan, Wisdom is a first baseman. Lee, who also serves as an outfielder, can return to the left field where Socrates Brito left. However, this situation is certainly not a good one for Byun.
However, in a way, Byun Woo-hyuk has nothing to lose. He has never played as a full-time main player yet, and he has to lose. In the long-term race anyway, backup is needed, and it is unlikely that Byun Woo-hyuk's presence will fall. Manager Lee Bum-ho believes that Hwang Dae-in has uncertainty in his physical condition in many ways. Byun Woo-hyuk has a chance next year. When Kim Do-young sometimes takes a break, Wizdom and Byun Woo-hyuk can divide the first and third bases. Even if Seo Geon-chang signs a contract, it is unlikely that Byun Woo-hyuk's presence will fall. 안전놀이터
However, Lee Bum-ho said, "I hope that Byun will focus more on baseball and not let up on this very part. Indeed, Kia desperately needs to nurture native big guns that will succeed Choi Hyung-woo and Na Sung-bum, and it remains true that one of the best candidates is Byun Woo-hyuk. Byun is preparing for the 2025 season of crisis and opportunity.