KT Wiz infielder Kang Baek-ho (24), who is preparing for the 6th professional season, said before leaving for the US camp, “I have to work hard. What else could there be? He said, “A player has to be good,” and he left.
On the 31st, Kang Baek-ho headed to Arizona, USA, where the 2023 spring camp site is located through Incheon International Airport. He said, “I’m just preparing the same. He starts early in the season and starts building up quickly. I think he will have to adapt quickly after going to America and prepare well.”
Kang Baek-ho had a batting average of .245 in 62 games last season. He also had six home runs and only 29 RBIs. His scoring position batting average was 2.3. During the exhibition game last year, he suffered a fracture injury to his right little toe and suffered a sluggish performance.
As he prepares for the new season this year, he has no choice but to pay more attention to his physical condition. Kang Baek-ho said, “I’m paying 메이저사이트 a lot of attention. And on his rehab side, he’s trying to get a little bit more of his reinforcement. He seems to be the first of those before the weight. (Injury last year) It was the first time I was sick, so I didn’t know. He’s feeling a lot. This year, I’m thinking, ‘I have to be careful’.”
In 2018, the first year of his debut, he recorded a batting average of 2.9 (153 hits in 527 at-bats), 29 homers, 84 RBIs, and an OPS of .879 in 138 games, winning the Rookie of the Year Award.
OPS increased every year from .913 in 2019, .955 in 2020, and .971 in 2021. But last year he hit .683. Due to injuries and sluggishness, the annual salary had to be stamped at 290 million won, a 47.3% cut from the previous annual salary of 550 million won.
Kang Baek-ho said, “After last season, I thought, ‘I need to take good care of my body. His skills aren’t everything. He thought the details really mattered. He felt those things affected his performance. He thinks he has matured by learning some immature things. It was a season where I learned a lot. It’s been 6 years, and every year is different.”
For Kang Baek-ho, 2023 could be an opportunity. If he plays the season healthy and performs better than last year, he can build up his lost self-esteem along with a cut salary. In addition, the World Baseball Classic (WBC) will be held in March. It is the third international stage for Kang Baek-ho, and we need to see if he can show his performance enough to applaud the fans.
He said, “I’ve always been the youngest wherever I go, and I’ve always felt a little less responsible, but this time around, I’ve accumulated years of experience, so I’m as responsible as expected. I will try hard,” he said.