Removed the tag of ‘from catcher’. Now, he is responsible for a starting position for the confident Lotte Giants.
Na Kyun-an (25), who is participating in the Guam spring camp, is experiencing an automatic diet. During the rigorous training, a clear jawline was revealed.
He is the only pitcher who escaped coach Bae Young-soo’s disapproving orders. Coach Bae emphasized, “Among the rookie pitchers at this camp, only one player was properly prepared, Na Kyun-an.”
Even while Na Kyun-an was pitching, a series of roars erupted from the mound next to him. He said, “I threw hard as if I didn’t see it,” and said, “Thank you for the praise. The more I do, the more I have to concentrate. I will not be lazy.”
He pitched in 39 games (13 starts) last year, pitched 117⅔ innings, and recorded an average ERA of 3.98 with 3 wins, 8 losses and 2 holds. Even in the first half, he played the role of a long man, taking responsibility for 4 to 5 innings, and from August he was selected as a starter. He experienced a whopping 87.9% salary increase and rose to the ranks of ‘billionaires (109 million won)’.
It was a year when I desperately felt the burden of physical strength in an unfamiliar starting position. This is why I spent this winter focusing on strengthening my physical strength. Na Kyun-an said, “The word is conditioning, it is hell training. Every day, today is the hardest. Especially, I have a big fear of running.”
Fortunately, there is no sore spot. We need to continue the current good trend into the season. “This year is a really important year for me. I have a different mindset. As my salary went up, my sense of responsibility and greed also grew,” he confessed his earnest thoughts.
Lotte recruited free agency starter Han Hyun-hee (30) this winter. It looks like a strong competitor has been added to the existing selection candidates such as Na Kyun-an, Lee In-bok, Kim Jin-wook, Seo Jun-won, and Lee Min-seok, who are scheduled to return in early June after elbow surgery.
However, Na Kyun-an smiled brightly when the story of Han Hyun-hee came out. He said, “I’m a competitor, but (Han) Hyun-hee takes care of me very well. He’s a really good brother.” At this time, Han Hyeon-hee, who was wandering around the neighborhood, sneaked up to him and pretended to hold a microphone like a reporter and interrupted, “What is your goal this year, Na Kyun-ahn?” and made him laugh. 안전놀이터
“First of all, I have to do better than Hyun-hee. My goal is to push Hyun-hee and get a spot in the starting lineup.”
At first, I had no desire to pitch. He was the one who first waved his hand at General Manager Seong Min-kyu’s proposal to become a pitcher. He was also very proud of himself as a catcher. However, he turned into a pitcher after an accidental injury, which turned out to be a godsend.
Unbeknownst to a catcher, he uses a variety of fastball, cutter, slider, and curve changeup, and his strength is his control. The goal of this camp is to refine all his breaking balls so that they can be used as deciding balls. His speed was also raised to 150 km last year.
“I want to become a pitcher who strikes out with a breakout strike at a ball count of 3-2. I really want to fill the required innings (144 innings) this year. I will show you the formula power of my 25-year-old father.”