His voice was not as dark as I thought. But he couldn’t erase his lack of energy.
The Lotte Giants failed to enter the fall baseball league again this year. They started to clean up their rosters ahead of the end of the season. From veteran pitcher Shin Jung-rak to Park Myung-hyun, who was considered a promising player, failed to avoid the blade of their release.
Min Sung-woo, a graduate of Incheon High School and Inha University, will also be removed from his uniform. Since joining Lotte as a nurturing player in 2022, he has not finished three seasons this year.
In his first year of debut, he hit .281 with three home runs and 16 RBIs in the Futures League (second division) with an on-base plus slugging percentage of 0.726. He drew attention from the coaches as he played as a third baseman to give more at-bats amid the evaluation that “I picked him because of defense, but the batting was okay.”
Other young players who joined the team, including Kyung Woo-jin and Kim Seung-joon, are gone, but he survived. At an exhibition game last year, he joined the first team and participated in training together. This allowed him to stand on the ground at Sajik Stadium.
As the number of participants decreased in the second year, they decided to resolve the military issue first. After entering the military in June last year, he served as a social service worker. They used to sweat a lot after work ahead of the call-up in March next year.
But his relationship with Lotte lasted less than three years. The telephone rang on the day of the holiday season, signaling his farewell.
Min expressed his disappointment by saying, “We talked about the nuance of doing it again when we returned, and we were held on military hold without being released, so we waited until the day we were discharged. We are almost ready to join.”
“After being notified of the release, it was really hard for me for two or three days. Would it have been different if I could have shown more? I’m sad. Actually, being a baseball player is all-in for me. As much as you trust me, I want to repay you. Lotte fans sent me a lot of encouraging messages through DMs after seeing the article. To be honest, I got emotional. I’ve never played in the first team before…”
He also understands the club’s position. The professional world is cold. The positions of the baseball team are fixed. Eleven new players join the team in a year. There are additional players who are recruited and need to be left blank to strengthen their capabilities in the future. Most of the nurturing players are subject to the first priority order.
Min started exercising by skating when he was a child. He was praised for his potential as an athlete. He used to play baseball at the same time until elementary school, but his choice was baseball.
“Whenever baseball was on TV, I was crazy about it. My father and older brother like baseball, and my father was my dream to be a baseball player. When I was in elementary school, I saw the announcement for recruiting baseball team members and met Ha Sung-jin (former SSG Landers) there, and I started playing baseball in earnest. We also played at Incheon High School together.”
Even as an amateur, he was an all-around player who played various positions, but he had a high professional wall. He was frustrated in the two drafts and eventually turned away from the hard-working professional. 토토사이트 모음
However, Min will try again after being discharged from the military. Starting with Jang Jong-hoon, Park Kyung-wan, Son Si-heon, Kim Hyun-soo, Seo Geon-chang, Chae Eun-seong and Jeong Hoon, many of them have grown into leading players in the league. Shin Min-jae (LG Twins), a rising star in the pro baseball league, is among the closest Incheon High School seniors who joined the pro baseball league after eating bread with tears in his eyes and waiting for a chance.
“I’m a catcher, so I think there’s a team I need. I’ll try again after spending the remaining six months faithfully. If you call Lotte again for a test, I’ll be happy to go. Lotte is the first team that gave us a chance. I’ve gained a lot of affection in Busan as well. I’ll become a better player based on this. I have a strong commitment to succeed in baseball.”