Why did the shortstop selected in the first round after waiting 17 years choose to enlist in active duty?

 Doosan Bears first-round draft pick shortstop Ahn Jae-seok (21) has decided to enlist in active duty.

Doosan coach Lee Seung-yeop met with reporters at Icheon Bears Park on the 31st and explained the reason behind his decision to enlist, saying, "After injuring my back, my condition did not improve, and I was having a hard time myself."

The reason I chose to enlist as an active duty soldier instead of applying to become a managing director was because I wanted to cool off. A Doosan official said, “He said he wants to put down baseball for a while now,” adding that Ahn Jae-seok is very tired.

Ahn Jae-seok was a promising next shortstop, so much so that he was called ‘Post Kim Jae-ho.’ He graduated from Seoul High School in 2021 and joined as the first draft pick, and was the first infielder selected by Doosan as the first draft pick in 17 years since Kim Jae-ho in 2004. In his debut season, 2021, he played 96 games as a first-team fixture, giving him an unusually large number of opportunities for a Doosan rookie fielder.

However, neither the club nor the players achieved the results they expected. The club hoped that Ahn Jae-seok would clearly establish himself as Kim Jae-ho's replacement within three years, and he also wanted to be a player himself, but he could not. Last year, the season ended early due to a wrist injury, and this year, he had to end the season early due to a back injury after being pushed out of competition for the starting position. It was quite a big ordeal for Ahn Jae-seok, who started as the starting shortstop at Seoul High School and went on to become a first-round professional draftee.

As Ahn Jae-seok received the club's expectations, his motivation has been great since he was a rookie in 2021. Even though he was 19 years old, he boldly played defense as a shortstop, and seemed to be growing quickly as he learned Jae-ho Kim's strengths from his side. Since he was a rookie who had just graduated from high school, although his batting had ups and downs, his defense was evaluated as stable, and he was able to establish himself as a first-team fixture. And in 2021, Doosan advanced to the fall baseball season in 4th place and quickly planted fall DNA as it participated in the process of taking second place in the Korean Series. In his second year as a pro, his eyes sparkled as he said he needed to refine his defense more. 토토사이트

However, his batting index gradually decreased, and his defense, which was evaluated as bold and stable for a rookie, became increasingly unstable. He went downhill with a batting average of 0.255 (51 hits in 200 at-bats) in 2021, a batting average of 0.213 (50 hits in 235 at-bats) in 2022, and a batting average of 0.188 (12 hits in 64 at-bats) this year. When a clutch error occurred, his recovery speed became increasingly slower. In the end, Ahn Jae-seok decided to take a break from baseball for a while.

Ahn Jae-seok has not joined the finishing camp and is continuing training at Jamsil Baseball Stadium. He has completed his physical examination and is waiting for his enlistment date. Currently in Jamsil, nine recovery pitchers, including pitchers Kwak Bin and Choi Seung-yong, who are participating in the Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC), are focusing on conditioning training.

Coach Lee is trying to find a face to replace Ahn Jae-seok and enter the post-Kim Jae-ho competition next season. Based on this season, Park Jun-young, Lee Yu-chan, and Park Gye-beom are expected to compete.

Coach Lee said, "(Kim) Jae-ho finished with good results, so there is no reason not to join him next season. Still, the team will become stronger only when a player who surpasses Kim Jae-ho emerges. Kim Jae-ho will try to maintain his position, and the younger players will surpass their seniors." “We have to compete to get over it,” he emphasized.

In addition, he urged young fielders in general to work hard. Coach Lee said, "It would be good to strengthen our strength, but we also need the growth of young players. Kim Min-hyuk and Kim Dae-han performed much worse than expected, so players like Yang Chan-yeol and Song Seung-hwan got more opportunities, and Park Ji-hoon and Park Jun-young are also good players. "If these players develop into starting players, our team will become stronger. There are concerns about whether veterans Kim Jae-ho, Heo Gyeong-min, and Yang Eui-ji will be able to play full-time in the future. Young players need to come out quickly," he said.