“I’m not very satisfied. I think it’s better than last year.”
Young Gun Lee Min-ho (22, LG Twins), 4th in the KBO League, showed a different pitch, but he was not satisfied with himself.
Lee Min-ho started the mound against the Lotte Giants in the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League Demonstration Match’ held at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 19th.
On this day, Lee Min-ho made his second start in his demonstration game. His first appearance on the 13th against Changwon NC Dinos was 2 innings, 5 hits (1 home run), 1 walk, 2 strikeouts and 2 runs, so he needed a turnaround.
At the beginning of the game, an uneasy flow continued. In the bottom of the first inning, he faced a crisis with two hits and one walk without a single base loaded. Afterwards, he allowed a push walk to Jack Rex and a sacrifice fly to An Chi-hong, giving the team a 0-2 lead.
Lee Min-ho, who finished episode 1, has changed. He showed stable pitching with one hit from the second inning to the fourth inning when he went down the mound. His final performance was 4 innings, 3 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts and 2 runs. It was a valuable fight that he reaped after a sluggish start.
Lee Min-ho, whom I met after the match, was somewhat satisfied with the performance. “As a result of the first inning, there were some hits and walks. Before the game, I focused on throwing a lot of breaking balls, but the ball worked, but the curve went in well. I need to fix the walks, but overall, I caught a lot of breaking balls (in the strike zone). I plan to think about that part and practice so that I can always throw consistently, and prepare before the season.”
Lee Min-ho increased the weight of the curve during his demonstration game. Until last year, he used his main weapon slider a lot, but he uses other breaking pitches such as curveball and changeup to avoid being attacked by hitters. 메이저놀이터 And as much as he practiced off-season, he showed a satisfactory pitch.
Lee Min-ho said, “Hitters’ focus is on the slider, so they try to take away the timing with something else (pitch type).” “Curves and changeups work well in the strike zone. 1) Also, hitters focus on fastballs, and the curve enters the strike zone, so it seems that there are fewer hits.”
Last year, Lee Min-ho collapsed from the beginning of the game, and there were many cases where he could not keep the 5th inning. But this day was different. He faltered as he overcame the initial crisis on his own, but did not collapse. “It would be nice if I could prepare well for the demonstration game period so that I could play the rest of the innings for a long time even if a crisis came,” he said. He pointed out what to do.
Lastly, he also revealed his impressions of confrontation with Yoo Kang-nam (31, Lotte), who is now an enemy. “It felt strange to meet the older brother I had been with on the opposing team. It was a bit new. (Yoo) Kangnam hyung received more balls from me, so I wonder if he could be seen better in the at-bat. He knows me well,” he said with a smile. exited the arena.
