KT Wiz infielder Kang Baek-ho expressed his determination before leaving for the United States.
On the 31st, Kang Baek-ho headed to Arizona, USA, where the 2023 spring camp site is located through Incheon International Airport. Coach Lee Kang-cheol boarded the plane to the United States first on the 27th, and the team left on the 29th. Kang Baek-ho had to leave the country separately because his salary contract was late.
Initially, the KT club notified the reduction amount according to the annual salary calculation system, but Kang Baek-ho did not accept it. As a result, salary negotiations took a long time. The annual salary contract negotiations were also stamped at 290 million won, a 47.3% cut from the previous annual salary of 550 million won.
Kang Baek-ho had a batting average of .245 in 62 games last season. He also had six home runs and only 29 RBIs. His scoring position was 2.3 and his OPS was .683, his worst season. The following is Kang Baek-ho’s Q&A.
– The resolution to go to camp this year.
I’m preparing just the same. He starts early in the season and is starting to build up his body quickly. I think I need to adapt quickly after going to the US and prepare well.
– How about body care?
I’m paying a little too much attention And the rehabilitation side is also trying to do a lot of reinforcement. I think that’s the first rather than the weight. (Injury last year) It was the first time I was sick, so I didn’t know. I am feeling a lot. I’m thinking I’ll have to be careful this year.
– This year seems to be different.
It’s always the same. I couldn’t do it last year, so I have to work hard this year. What else could there be? Athletes must do well.
– Looking back at last season.
After last season, I thought, ‘I need to take good care of my body’. Skills aren’t everything. I thought the details were really important. I felt that those things affected my skills. I think I matured as I learned some immature things. It was a season where I learned a lot. It’s been 6 years and it’s different every year.
– How was the salary contract process?
This is a sensitive question. Salary isn’t everything. So I’m not paying too much attention to it. And somehow, because it was well-coordinated, I am participating in the camp like this. And I don’t think the salary is everything because there are many things that the club has taken care of. I will show this year that annual salary does not divide a player’s ‘class’.
– The national team must also go out.
I think it’s new. I’ve never joined the national team through camp, so I think it’s really amazing. The camp itself is now a place where players go to build up their bodies before starting the season, but I think I can learn a lot by joining the national team.
I think I can learn a little bit about how other team players do at camp. You will mature as you learn some of those things. And since players from other countries are coming out, I’m looking forward to it a lot. And I think we should feel responsible. I was always the maknae wherever I went, and I felt a bit less responsible wherever I went, but this time, I’ve accumulated years of experience, so I’m as responsible as expected. I will try hard. 안전놀이터
– (If you go to the WBC tournament) you have to deal with Japan as well.
suddenly remembered have to insult You seem to be well prepared. Back then we were lacking. We also have a lot of good players, so I hope that we will prepare hard and get good results.
– Only Choi, but the case has not been confirmed. Is there no pressure?
All players run with a sense of pressure. It’s because they wear the Taegeuk mark. I will deal with any situation the same way. You have to believe that and prove it diligently.
In fact, the result is more important than the process. No matter what sport or country, I prepare perfectly in the process. judged by the result. There is no doubt about the process. I will try to make the result better.