KIA Na Seong-beom "Every time I see the director, he says, 'Let's not get sick.'"
Last year, due to injury, he hit 18 home runs despite playing in only 58 games.
“This year’s goal is ‘not to get hurt’… You have to play to make a record.”
Na Seong-beom (33), captain of the professional baseball KIA Tigers, achieved monstrous results in 'ratio figures' such as batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) last year.
He had a batting average of 0.365, a slugging percentage of 0.671, and an OPS of 1.098.
If he had only filled the required number of at-bats, he could have been named the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP).
However, the number of game appearances was disappointing. 카지노사이트
He started the season early in the World Baseball Classic (WBC), but suffered a calf injury ahead of the opening of the regular season and returned only at the end of June. In September, when the team was in the midst of the fall baseball competition, he ended the season with a ruptured right thigh muscle.
Meanwhile, he played well with 18 home runs and 57 RBIs.
If we assume that he played in all 144 games, he would be on pace for 46 home runs this season.
So Na Seong-beom’s goal for 2024 is only ‘prevention of injuries.’
Na Seong-beom, who completed the first field training in Australia and is currently undergoing the second field training at Gin Baseball Stadium in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, met with reporters on the 24th and said, "The goal is 'not to get hurt.'
You have to play the game without getting hurt to get records, he said.
"Last year, not only me but many players got injured, so there were a lot of negative points (in terms of performance), but this year, we are going well as there are not many injured players so far.
“I hope we can continue this momentum and prevent players from getting injured during the season,” said Na Seong-beom, who injured his lower body, including his calf and thigh, last year and is training by focusing on these areas.
Na Seong-beom explained, “I am doing stretching and reinforcement training focusing on the lower body rather than the upper body.
I have paid more attention to lower body training since the off-season.”
New coach Lee Beom-ho has only one thing to ask Na Seong-beom.
Na Seong-beom smiled and said, “Every time I see the director, he says, ‘Let’s not get sick. ’
He emphasizes that.” Coach Lee, who was a hitting coach until just last month, took over as new manager, but the relationship between the two did not change much.
Na Seong-beom recalled, When I was a coach, if I couldn't hit the ball, the coach would take time and wait for me to approach him first."
Thanks to that, I was able to approach him and talk more comfortably."
Na Seong-beom, who is now in charge of leading the team together as coach and captain, explained, "If the players cross the line with the coach (who is too comfortable), I will tell them, but so far there is no problem.
We are training in a good atmosphere."
Na Seong-beom grew into a leading hitter in the league under the guidance of former coach Kim Kyung-moon at NC Dinos during his early professional career.
It was former manager Kim who recommended that he change from a pitcher to a hitter.
Na Seong-beom, who recalled former manager Kim by saying, “I am a person who is very blessed by the manager,” said, “When I first turned to a batsman, I needed a lot of training.
I was lucky to meet manager Kim Gyeong-moon at that time.
He was a great fit for me.”
The hottest topic heating up the KBO League this season is the return of Ryu Hyun-jin (36, Hanwha Eagles).
Na Seong-beom said, "When I first came to the pros, Ryu Hyun-jin went to the Dodgers, so I couldn't meet him. I thought we would meet someday.
The world of competition is cold, so I will prepare well for a good match."