Okinawa (Japan)] Lotte Giants playing coach Jung Tae-seung took the mound for the first time in 564 days. He didn’t have a perfect pitch, but he clearly showed that he could compete with active players.
Coach Jeong Tae-seung climbed the mound as the third pitcher in a practice match against the Samsung Lions held at Akama Stadium in Onna-son, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan on the 28th and recorded two walks and no runs in one inning. The maximum speed is 142 km.
Coach Jeong Tae-seung, who joined Lotte as a foster player in 2012, decided to retire from active duty at the end of the 2021 season after leaving an average ERA of 12.91 in 8 games in the first team, such as not being able to bloom for a long time. And last year, he served as pitching coach for Lotte’s remaining army. However, he is taking on a new challenge this year.
Coach Jeong Tae-seung, who had put an end to his active career, recently decided to take on the role of both coach and player after talking with first-team pitching coach Bae Young-soo. And coach Jeong Tae-seung, who was building his body in Korea, came to Okinawa, Japan, where the 3rd spring camp was held on the 27th.
Coach Jeong Tae-seung pitched in a practice game with Samsung on the same day as he joined Japan. Based on the first team, it has been 956 days since the Samsung match on July 17, 2020, and it has been on the mound 564 days since facing NC Dinos in the Futures League in 2021. He wasn’t clean, but he didn’t concede.
Coach Jeong Tae-seung stood on the mound at the bottom of the 5th inning with Lotte narrowly trailing 2-3. And he made the first out count by turning the first batter, Kim Hyeon-joon, into a floating ball in right field. Afterwards, coach Jeong Tae-seung gave a walk to the follow-up hitter, Ja-wook Koo, but the runner was erased with a narrow strike that began to check the catcher and accumulated an outcount.
Coach Jeong Tae-seung continued to allow Kim Dong-yeop to walk once again in a situation where there was no runner in the second runner, but the follow-up hitter Kim Tae-gun turned the second baseman into a grounder and ended the inning without a run. Considering that he has been on the mound for the first time in a while, the pitching was not bad at all.
After scoring two runs in the third inning, the Lotte batting line, which had not been able to make an additional point, began to exert its strength. In the beginning of the 6th inning, Lotte tied the game with a ‘double steal’ on the 1st and 3rd bases, which were created by Yun Dong-hee and Kim Min-seok’s consecutive hits. Afterwards, Lee Ho-yeon turned the game around with 1 RBI and double, Han Dong-hee and Ko Seung-min each added 1 point, turning the tide of the game 6-3.
Lotte succeeded in reversing and kept the flow, and coach Jeong Tae-seung, who received help from the other line, tasted victory on the mound after a long time, although it was not an official game.
How did it feel to be on the mound after a long time? Coach Jeong Tae-seung said, “I was nervous because it was my first real game in two years. From the time I warmed up, the routine was twisted and I was trembling.” didn’t care,” he said.먹튀검증
Coach Jeong Tae-seung politely refused interviews after making up his mind to return to the mound. This is because he has not yet digested the demonstration game and is not included in the first team entry. He announced his return, but he was cautious in a situation where he did not know if he would be able to get on the mound or not.
Coach Jeong Tae-seung said, “To be honest, I threw today, but I haven’t settled down yet, and I feel very sorry for the coaches and juniors because I feel like I’m digesting the team’s innings. I will try,” he said vigorously.