Professional baseball Samsung Lions left-hander Baek Jung-hyun (37) plans to leave for a month of personal training in the U.S. in the offseason.
Baek suffered an unexpected injury ahead of the playoffs against the LG Twins. During an on-the-go self-assessment match held at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on March 9, he was deflected off his right hand and hit around his left eye. Baek collapsed as he was, and batter Kim ran to the mound to check his condition. Baek was helped off the field by his trainer. He was diagnosed with a fine fracture in his right thumb and bruise on his left eye. He was not listed in the Korean Series entry against the KIA Tigers as well as the playoffs.
The Dong-A Ilbo met Baek at Gyeongsan Ballpark on Sunday and he was still wearing a brace on his right thumb. “I feel a lot better. I’m working out my lower body and exercising my upper body to the extent that I can’t handle my fingers,” Baek said. Baek suffered an unexpected injury ahead of the fall festival. He must have felt so sad that words could not describe his feelings. “I regret not being able to be with the team, but I guess I can’t help it.”
“I was so sorry and thankful when (Baek) Jung-hyun came to my side and said, ‘I’m okay,'” Kim said. “Thanks to that, I felt a little relieved. I felt that I needed to do better for him, and I felt more responsibility,” he said. “He seems to have more tears as he gets older. He cries easily,” Baek said smiling.
When his teammates were doing their best to become the main players of the fall season, Baek prepared for the next season by conducting rehabilitation training and treatment for his injury. “I thought, ‘I would have taken the mound in this situation,’ while watching the game,” Baek said. “All the players did their best, but unfortunately, I finished the season in second place. I am also preparing harder to be of help to the team.”
“I wanted to learn this and that in the U.S. after the season ends, but I couldn’t. I’m going to exercise and study for about a month now because I have a good opportunity,” Baek said after announcing his plan to train in the U.S. for a month from mid-December.
It is not common for a veteran player to retire at his own expense to go overseas training. As such, he expressed strong desire to achieve better results. “There are so many things I want to learn in the U.S.,” Baek said. “I will learn a lot about pitching mechanisms as well as about how to improve my pitching skills. I have learned how to play the game by myself through videos. Theoretically, I think it would be better if I could learn more about it,” Baek said.
He then said, “I want to become a leader after retirement, but it’s good to tell me what I’ve experienced, but theoretically, it’s more effective to know and teach. To do that, I have to study hard.” Baek Jung-hyun also confessed, “I need someone to help me translate, but I haven’t found one yet.”
I asked Baek, whose hobby is reading books, if he enjoys reading these days. “I read books of various genres. I read books on physics as well as books on Buddhism. I sometimes look for related books if I have something I don’t know while reading books,” Baek said. “I give advice to juniors who are having a hard time, but I often give them books that I think would suit him. It’s up to him if he reads and not reads.”
Baek Jung-hyun, who signed an FA contract with Samsung in December 2021 for a total of 3.8 billion won for four years, expressed his desire to show a further improvement in the final year of his contract. Recalling the memory of being shaken by five runs in one ⅔ of the first inning as a starter against KIA in Daegu on August 31, he expressed regret, saying, “If I had won then, I would have been able to challenge for first place, but I lost, so I went to the atmosphere of solidifying into second place.”
“We decided that a step-up was necessary for the final year of our contract. Instead of ending it like this, I want to try as much as possible and produce good results,” Baek said. “We are making changes to our existing pitching styles including sliders, curves, and change-ups in the second half of the season,” Baek said with a smile. “There have been few inducements for right-handed batters to swing and miss, but I think it is hopeful.”
Bae Chan-seung, a rookie in the first round, said, “I want to resemble Baek’s crisis management ability and breaking ball completeness,” citing Baek as his role model. In response, Baek said, “I like what I have much more than when I was young. I hope you will continue to do what you have until now (because you were nominated as a professional in recognition of your ability). Don’t be swayed and trust yourself, but if it doesn’t work, you can make changes.” 메이저놀이터
