Yang Hyun-jong, a 'harsh self-appointed,' pushes himself to 30→40→50…"Rest well during the offseason. 100 balls at the end of the camp"
Yang Hyun-jong, a 'harsh self-appointed,' pushes himself to 30→40→50…"Rest well during the offseason. 100 balls at the end of the camp"
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"Big pitcher" KIA Tigers Yang Hyun-jong successfully pitched his third bullpen in the spring camp.
Yang threw a bullpen session at an indoor training center in Irvine, California on Tuesday (local time). He threw 50 pitches, 25 pitches each, on two occasions.
KIA had its training schedule changed due to rain that poured in from early morning on the day. The pitching staff conducted weight training, reinforcement training and treatment in the morning. In case of Yang, however, he managed to continue pitching in the bullpen as scheduled.
"Currently, I am in the process of increasing the number of pitches. I threw 30 pitches at first, 40 pitches at second, and 50 pitches today," Yang said after pitching in the bullpen. "I think I will be able to increase the number of pitches up to 100 by the end of the spring camp. I am preparing well according to my plan."
Yang pitched 171 ⅓ innings in 29 games during the 2024 season, receiving a report card of 11 wins, 5 losses and an earned run average of 4.10. Considering the strong winds of riding and pitching throughout the league, Yang showed sufficient performance. Detailed indicators were also good with 129 strikeouts, 1.25 on-base allowed per inning (WHIP) and 15 quality starts (more than six innings, less than three earned runs).
In particular, Yang has built a golden tower of 170 innings for 10 consecutive seasons, which is unprecedented in the history of the KBO league. With not many Korean pitchers remaining in the regular innings (144), the prevailing view is that 170 innings for 10 consecutive seasons will become an immortal record that will not be easily broken for the time being.
On top of that, Yang took the mound as a starting pitcher and allowed eight hits, two walks and five strikeouts in five ⅓ innings, breaking the record of the oldest winning pitcher in the Korean Series by allowing two runs (one earned run) in the second game of the 2024 Korean Series against the Samsung Lions on October 23 last year. He even acquired his third career championship ring following 2009 and 2017.
Yang is the mainstay of Kia's starting lineup this year as well. However, Kia manager Lee Bum-ho believes that Yang should be accompanied by "management" since he is an old man who turns 37 this year. When left-hander Young-gun and Lee Eui-ri, who are undergoing rehabilitation and recovery process after surgery, returns to Korea in June, Yang will be given ample rest by excluding Yang from the starting rotation several times.
Yang is also fully aware of the coach's intentions. However, he is taking the same routines as before. He is focusing on stability and rest throughout the winter and taking intensive training sessions in the spring camp.
"Yang spends a lot of his energy during the regular season and has a routine of resting during the off-season," said Jeong Jae-hoon, Kia's main pitching coach. "After coming to the spring camp, he is rapidly boosting his pace. I think Yang will be able to perform well again this year."
Aside from consideration from the coaching staff, Yang has not stopped whipping himself. As he had a good time to recharge throughout the winter, he feels that now is the time to sweat hard.
Yang said, "I really rested a lot during the offseason this winter. Usually, I work out from early January, but I felt like I needed to rest more this year, so I rested well until the middle of this month." 안전놀이터
"I'm going to do more after coming to the U.S. this year because I started working out a little later than usual," he said. "To put it simply, I have a plan to overwork my body. Even if my body is a little tired, I'll work hard to improve my condition," he added.