The Diamond Bulbul is now gone"…First and second, Yoo Kangnam's offseason of "Preventing Injury."
The Diamond Bulbul is now gone"…First and second, Yoo Kangnam's offseason of "Preventing Injury."
Blog Article
Lotte Giants catcher Yoo Kang-nam is preparing for the upcoming 2025 season with extraordinary determination. He will enter his first season after undergoing suture of the internal meniscal cartilage in his left knee, the biggest surgery since his debut as a pro player in July last year.메이저사이트
Currently, his physical condition is not too bad. He sprinted in practice games, and recently he performed sit-down catcher training without any problems. What matters is the actual game. The priority is how much pain he does not get during the regular season and how much he or she performs.
Yoo Kang-nam, who must have been hungry for baseball after being out for the season early last year, returned to Korea from Taiwan where his first spring camp was held. A day later, he will move to Miyazaki, Japan, where his second camp is located, to gain a sense of play in real games.
Yoo Kang-nam said, "I wanted to do it all because of my knee injury, but I couldn't. I prepared as much as I could. If I move to Miyazaki, Japan, where the second camp is held, I have to practice for the actual match, but I will strengthen my training and participate in the match," adding, "I have no problem running. It is okay to sit down, but I try not to overwork myself by beating my legs." At the end of the Taiwan camp, I also sat down and conducted catcher training. "In that regard, Japan is planning to conduct more intensive training," he said after finishing the camp.
Last year, Yoo had the most difficult year. He played in 52 games and posted a batting average of 0.191 (26 hits in 136 times at bat) with five homers and 20 RBIs with an OPS of 0.599. Since his debut as a professional player with the LG Twins in the 2011 season, he has played in more than 100 games every year since taking the lead in the 2015 season, but played in the fewest games due to his injury. As he was out early in the season, he couldn't do anything, which caused him to agonize a lot.
Yoo Kang-nam, who looked back on the situation after the injury, said, "The surgery and rehabilitation process were long. I thought hard about what I would do with the rest of my baseball life. I've never been this sick or had surgery before. It's a long time ago, but I also heard the sound of 'Geumgangbulge'. But now it's gone. The first thing is not to get sick. That way, I think I can do anything. I don't mind going to the Futures League because I'm not good at it, but it was really upsetting that I couldn't play baseball because I was sick. I thought a lot about focusing on that point (preventing injury)."
He added, "It was my first time having surgery during the season, so I was embarrassed when the surgery came out, but I decided to do it and prepare for the next season. The off-season was longer than others, so I thought I should do better in preparing thoroughly."
The goal is to become the catcher at the end of the second camp. Only then will the team be able to prepare for the exhibition game that starts on August 8 and the opening game of the regular season that will take place on August 22.
Yoo Kang-nam said, "I'm planning to play catcher in the last two games of the second camp. If my condition gets better, it may happen faster. We have to watch the situation. It is also important how fast you recover after playing in a game. I will check and adjust those points carefully. I think my knees will not be complete. I have to adapt. That's what I have to carry. If I don't get anxious, I think there will be no problem. If I do it more boldly, I think I will be the only one who will not be anxious because I was told that the surgery was going well."
Finally, Yoo Kang-nam said, "I talked about my numerical goal for the first time last year, but I got hurt. I try to think only in my heart. I just need to do well. My goal is to not get sick and to play the season much better."