“The beginning wasn’t bad, but it’s a pity that we couldn’t finish happily”.
Hwang Dong-jae (22), a right-hander from the first Samsung Lions nomination, said as he looked back on last year.
As he said, the beginning wasn’t bad. He got off to a good start with an ERA of 1.80 in three games in April. On May 5, in a home game against NC, he reported his first win in his debut with 5 hits, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts and 1 run in 6⅔ innings.
Entering June, he was sluggish with a 20.77 earned run average in four games, with both starts breaking down early. It was more and more disappointing than he expected. In the end, the season ended with 1 win and 3 losses in 16 games (7.06 ERA).
Hwang Dong-jae sweated hard at the finishing camp in Okinawa, Japan, in order not to repeat his disappointment of last year. After undergoing training that was so intense that it was called ‘hell training’, he said, “I got stronger mentally through a lot of training. It was hard, but I felt that I could do this much. I will work hard at spring camp in February.”
He added, “I often watch pitching videos last year, and I realized the difference between when I threw well and when I didn’t. I need to improve both speed and pitch. I’ve experienced bad things, so I need to prepare well for what I lack.” 스포츠토토
Hwang Dong-jae was scolded by former Futures coach Eiji Ochiai (current head coach of Chunichi Dragons), whom he met at Akama Ballpark in Okinawa, Japan on November 14 last year.
Coach Ochiai, who came to Okinawa with the Chunichi pitching team, visited Akama Ball Park where Samsung’s finishing camp was set up for a rest day. As soon as Hwang Dong-jae saw coach Ochiai, he ran to him in one step.