Kenley Jansen (36, Boston Red Sox) is a player with a unique career who transformed from a catcher to a pitcher.
As a teammate of Ryu Hyun-jin (36, Toronto Blue Jays) during his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Jansen, who is well known to domestic fans, was praised for his strong arm as a catcher and good at stopping base stealing. However, his offensive power is below expectations, as his minor league career batting average is only 2.2 9 Lee안전놀이터. The Dodgers encouraged Jansen to become a pitcher, and Jansen stood tall as the best closer in the major leagues with 391 saves until last year.
NC Dinos pitcher Lim Ji-min also walks the same path as Jansen. He played an active role as the main catcher during his time at Gangwon High School, and due to the team’s circumstances, he was only occasionally on the mound. After his professional debut, he turned to pitching and established himself as the future team’s closer. He was on the mound 31 times, going 1-2 with 10 saves. His earned run average is 1.55. He struck out 35 in 29 innings. His main weapons are a fast ball with a speed of up to 150 km, a slider and a forkball.
Im Ji-min, who is preparing for this season at Futures Camp, looked back on his first year of debut and said, “I thought I would have difficulties in my first year as a professional catcher and pitcher in high school, but it went better than I thought. Thanks to the coaches who taught me well.” It was a year in which I experienced many things, including participating in the Futures All-Star Game.”
Thick guts are Lim Ji-min’s strong point. He expressed his gratitude, saying, “I wasn’t originally the type to have good guts. Thanks to the manager and coaches who continued to give me opportunities, good results came out and my confidence improved.” Is there any burden on firefighters? “I was nervous at first, but when I’m in a close fight, I feel something thrilling,” he grinned. He said the most memorable thing was catching Choi Won-joon (Senior Director), who was active as the KIA leadoff.
Lim Ji-min’s main task in spring camp is to strengthen his physical strength. He said, “If you put a lot of strength or lose your stamina, your pitching form will be disturbed, but I am focusing on improving my stamina. I gained about 6 to 7 kg in weight while working hard on weight training. I felt that I gained strength when pitching.” revealed Rather than adding a new pitching repertoire, the company plans to focus on enhancing the value of existing pitches.
It is my dream to become a finishing pitcher like Oh Seung-hwan (41, Samsung), who is the “leader of the end game.” Lim Ji-min said, “It was impressive that he did not waver in any situation.” In September of last year, promotion to the first team was likely in line with the expanded entry, but his first team debut was postponed to the next opportunity due to poor condition. He does image training, imagining himself standing on the mound for the first team. He expressed his wish, “I often imagine going to the first team game, but I want to make my imagination a reality this season.”
In front of Lim Ji-min’s name, the title of ‘No. 1 professional player from Gangwon High School’ follows. “I have a lot of responsibility as the No. 1 professional player,” he said.
The goal this season is to debut on the first team stage. Lim Ji-min, who said, “I want to throw at least once in the first team,” said, “The biggest goal is to win the title if I do well and settle down.”