Yasin also admitted to poisoning
The defensive training conducted by former coach ‘Yasin’ Kim Seong-geun himself had a reputation for being harsh. Players lose their energy by hitting fungo (ground balls for defensive training) without even having time to catch their breath. It was also a kind of mental test.
The tenacity that Choi Jeong (37, SSG Landers) showed on the field was enough to make even coach Kim Seong-geun hold his tongue. In October 2006, Coach Kim, who was appointed as the head coach of SK Wyverns (now SSG) and coached Choi Jeong in the final camp, did not show any signs of hardship even though he made 1,000 pungos and 1,000 free bets every day, but rather looked at himself with a venomous expression. I was very impressed with the young player I was watching. Coach Kim even looked back and said that among his many students, Choi Jeong was the only one who 100% completed his training.
Choi Jeong, acknowledged by Yashin as a ‘poisonous breed’, has grown every season. He continued to maintain good skills and became a leading gunner in the league. He also won the home run title three times.
Choi Jeong-eun made history with a home run against the Busan Lotte Giants on the 24th. In the beginning of the 5th inning, with two outs and no runners on base, he attacked opposing pitcher Lee In-bok's first-pitch slider and hit a solo home run to left. It was the 10th home run of the 2024 season and the 468th home run of his personal career. It was the moment when Choi Jeong surpassed ‘national hitter’ Lee Seung-yeop (current Doosan Bears coach, 467) and rose to first place in the KBO League’s total home runs.
Baseball fans evaluate Choi Jeong, who has natural strength and a strong body, as a ‘genius-type’ player. On the other hand, colleagues who have watched him for a long time are convinced that he is a ‘hard-working type’. SSG ace Kim Gwang-hyun, who has been with the team since 2007, said, "(Choi) Jeong is still the person who spins the bat more to eliminate the tension that arises before going to a game."
Actually, Choi Jeong did not consider himself a hard-working player. Choi Jeong-eun, whom we met after the Lotte game on the 24th, which set a new record, said, "I think other players put in more effort than me. If there's something fun for me, I have a great desire to do it well. Even when training with coach Kim Seong-geun, I said, 'Defense is also important.' “I thought, ‘I can do it technically,’ and even though it was hard on my body, I felt like my skills were improving, so the word ‘it’s hard’ didn’t come out either,” he explained.
Choi Jeong also accepts his objectively uncomfortable training positively. Choi Jeong reflected, "Among batting, defense, and base running, some things are not fun. No matter what, I try to find new fun in them. When I feel my skills improving, I feel better, so I wanted to play the next game as soon as possible."
What people call 'effort', Choi Jeong seems to think of as just 'an act of doing something because you like it.' The source of the grit and venom that coach Kim Seong-geun acknowledged was his ‘love for baseball’ that was deeper than anyone else’s.
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