“First of all, the energy I felt was strong. And when the score was scored, it was all at once, so I was out of my mind.”
‘Two families under one roof’ He went from being the fearsome head of a rival team to becoming ‘our coach.’ The intentions of Lotte Giants Yoo Kang-nam, who welcomes new manager Kim Tae-hyung, are special.
I vividly remember the fear that raged across the dugout across the face with a sullen face. In particular, I remembered the pressure that was felt due to the head-to-head record of 1 win and 15 losses in 2018.
Now he is the ‘head of our team.’ He replied, “You smile brightly, but smiling is not smiling. I’m nervous about everything.”
He is a former catcher, which is rare among the current KBO League first-team commanders. Yoo Kang-nam expressed his expectations, saying, “I will have a lot to learn as the coach is in the same position. I plan to prepare for training while always keeping the coach’s words in mind. That way, I will be helpful to the coach.”
In particular, coach Kim Tae-hyung praised Lotte’s catchers at the inauguration ceremony, saying, “Lotte’s catchers are top-notch.” Yoo Kang-nam emphasized, “We will not show any loopholes in the future. We will prepare to be called a ‘catcher powerhouse’.”
“When I faced the manager, the opposing catchers were Yang Eui-ji and Park Se-hyuk. It was a team with a good ability to judge the situation and push forward. Isn’t that the manager’s ability?”
As a free agent, he wore a Lotte uniform and became an ‘8 billion catcher.’ However, his personal performance of a batting average of .200, 6.1, 10 home runs, 55 RBI, OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.745 leaves something to be desired.
Yoo Kang-nam said, “It’s a shame that the results came up so late. Even if we had done half of what we did in the second half in the first half… But if we had finished the season with the grades in the first half, we would have been criticized even more than we are now.”
“The odds of reaching the top 5 have decreased,” he said. He also expressed his inner thoughts, saying, “Thanks to my concentration on each and every turn and the mindset of ‘It shouldn’t end like this,’ my grades went up.” This was
because he was weighed down by a sense of responsibility and burden. Yoo Kang-nam said, “It’s not like I received a small amount of money… Going simpler was the right answer. “That’s the difference between the first half and the second half,” he said. 메이저놀이터“Still, the starting pitchers’ ERA (3.83) is good. He also expressed pride in saying, “It’s the best performance in recent years.”
Yoo Kang-nam joined the LG Twins in 2011 and became their main catcher in 2015. However, this year, when he changed his uniform to Lotte, the LG Twins are aiming to win the Korean Series for the first time since 2002.
“The team I played for for over 10 years advanced to the Korean Series as soon as I moved. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed. But I am now a Lotte player. I hope our team can be in that position next year.”