Kim Gwang-hyeon met with reporters at Incheon Airport ahead of his departure from the United States on the 25th.
SSG Landers Kim Gwang-hyeon (36), who had a difficult time in many ways last year, pledged to bounce back ahead of his departure for spring camp.
Gwang-Hyun Kim met with reporters at Incheon International Airport on the 25th ahead of his departure to Florida, USA, the site of SSG’s first spring camp, and said, “Last year was a lot of bad things in many ways. “I want to create a different time this year,” he said.
As he said, Kim Gwang-hyun’s memories of 2023 are not good. He welcomed 2023 brilliantly after winning the combined championship in 2022, but was eliminated in the first round at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March and returned home in shabby form.
At the beginning of the season, when he had gathered his courage, he had a hard time when it was revealed that he had been drinking with his junior Jeong Cheol-won (Doosan Bears) during the WBC period.
After that, I became depressed and didn’t get any grades. Gwang-Hyun Kim had 9 wins, 8 losses, and an ERA of 3.53 last season. He failed to reach double-digit multipliers for the first time since 2012.
The team managed to advance to the semi-playoffs by finishing in 3rd place, but suffered 3 consecutive losses to the NC Dinos and ended fall baseball early. In many ways, 2023 was a year that Kim Gwang-hyun wanted to erase.
Kim Gwang-hyun, who had refused all interviews with reporters after the drinking incident, agreed to a media interview for the first time in a long time on the day before his departure. He said, “Last year, I wasn’t feeling well and a lot of bad things happened. “I was very disappointed in many ways and wanted the year to end quickly,” he confessed.
As time passed, the new year arrived, and Kim Gwang-hyun also regained his composure. He recently went to Okinawa, Japan to conduct personal training with the team’s junior pitchers, including Lee Ro-woon and Oh Won-seok. Aside from airfare, all lodging expenses were borne by Kim Gwang-hyun.
Kim Gwang-hyun smiled and said, “My juniors say it was good in front of me, but I don’t know what it is like in reality,” and then added, “The weather was nice, so it was perfect for training. He expressed satisfaction, saying, “Everyone will work hard to get in shape and go to Florida.”
This year, SSG has a new general manager and coach. Among them, new general manager Kim Jae-hyun has a special relationship with Kim Gwang-hyun as they played together in the past as a player for SK Wyverns (now SSG).
In the second game of the professional baseball ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO Postseason‘ semi-playoff game between NC Dinos and SSG Landers held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the afternoon of the 23rd, SSG starting pitcher Gwang-Hyun Kim takes the mound in the top of the first inning and fights back.
Gwang-Hyeon Kim said, “You are my eternal captain and spiritual supporter. “He is someone I have always respected, and I was glad to see him come as the leader,” he said. “He came to Japan last week, and I was grateful for his encouragement. “The leader spoke kindly of me, so I stood up in front of the juniors who were with me,” he said.
He said, “Also, most of the managers and coaches have changed, and unlike previous years, they asked me to make a pitching schedule. I am grateful that they gave me the opportunity to decide for myself when it would be best to enter the starting rotation, but it is also burdensome. He emphasized, “We will discuss again with the director and come up with a good plan.”
Regarding the newly appointed pitching coach Bae Young-soo, he said, “I haven’t worked with the same team in the past, but I always said hello to him. “I lived with him for about 2-3 weeks during last year’s WBC,” he said. “He is a nice person.” “With the arrival of a like-minded coach, I was able to discuss things more intimately,” he said.
Kim Gwang-hyun, born in 1988, is the Year of the Dragon and is looking forward to synergy as this year marks the Year of the Dragon. He has aspirations that if he does well, he can even win the championship again.
He said, “This is his second Year of the Dragon after joining the pro ranks. He said, “I feel that time passes very quickly,” and “This year, rather than making any big personal goals, my primary goal is to keep the rotation according to the schedule I created. “If I do well, I can expect to advance beyond the top 5 and even win the championship,” he said.
He joked, “I hope I can get good grades and take good care of my body so that I can play as a player until the next Year of the Dragon comes.” 섯다