"Don't be nervous and throw as you do"
"Don't be nervous and throw as you do"
Jung Hae-young is a franchise player who joined KIA in 2020 after going through Gwangju Dongseong Middle School and Gwangju Jeil High School.
He has been a setup man since his debut season, and immediately recorded double-digit holds (11) and became the mainstay of the first division.
From 2021, in his second year, he was in charge of finishing full-time. In 64 games that year, he was 5-4 with 34 saves and a 2.20 ERA.
In 2022, he continued his performance with 3 wins, 7 losses, 32 saves and ERA 3.38, in 55 games. There were some early swings this year, but they showed steady performance with 3 wins, 4 losses, 23 saves and ERA of 2.92, in 52 games. He has made a total of 90 saves after four seasons of his professional career.
Based on his performance, he was also selected for the 2023 Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC) national team.
Until now, the national baseball team had no chance for Jung Hae-young because there was a built-in finish called Ko Woo-suk (LG), but Jung Hae-young had a chance as Ko Woo-suk was left out for various reasons, including his condition.
Initially, Jung Hae-young was expected to play the role of a setup man connecting the starting and finishing. However, as Park Young-hyun (KT) was excluded from the national team list due to the Korean Series schedule, Jung Hae-young was immediately given the finishing position.
Coach Ryu Joong-il pointed out Jeong Hae-young as Park Young-hyun's replacement in conversation with reporters before heading to Japan on the 14th.
Jung Hae-young, who won the Taegeuk mark for the first time in addition to her career in the youth national team, is nervous in itself, and the pressure has increased even as she has been given the main task of finishing.
In particular, APBC is a competition involving professional players from each country, so the level of opponents is much higher than that of the Asian Games. This means that pitchers are more burdened.
Only when Jung Hae-young shows the know-how and competitiveness he has accumulated as a finishing pitcher can individuals as well as the team laugh.
Jung Hae-young, who arrived in Japan with both tension and excitement, seemed to overcome the situation while enjoying it rather than being burdened by the situation surrounding her.
Jung Hae-young said, "As I was selected for the national team for the first time, it is not a situation where I can decide on the position. I just throw hard at any given mission at any time," he said.
"I don't have any problems with my physical condition. I will not feel burdened and throw it confidently as I have been doing," he said confidently.