This is a concern that Doosan Bears manager Lee Seung-yeop confided before leaving spring camp in Sydney, Australia. He directly looked at the players from the finishing camp and analyzed their strength, and he wished there were more lefties he could trust and 스포츠토토 use in the first team. It is true that seasoned left-handed pitchers disappeared as Yu Hee-gwan (37) and Lee Hyeon-seung (41) retired after the 2021 season in turn.
Manager Lee said, “All foreign pitchers are right-handed, and most of the main players such as the middle and finishers are right-handed. If there are many left-handed starters, there is only one (Choi Seung-yong). As for the game, it would be nice if a left-hander pitched, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. The left-hander should stand out a little more in the middle. These days, there are more left-handed hitters. Even in the KIA Tigers, if Na Seong-beom, Choi Hyung-woo, and Socrates Brito are lined up, it’s certain We need a left-handed pitcher who can overwhelm left-handed hitters.”
So he reached out to his old friend. On the 31st, Doosan announced that it had invited pitching instructor Hisanori Takahashi (48) to the spring camp in Australia. Coach Lee and instructor Takahashi worked side by side for four years from 2006 at the Yomiuri Giants of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Director Lee believed in the years together and asked Instructor Takahashi to help Doosan quench their thirst for training lefties.
Instructor Takahashi joined Yomiuri in 2000 and retired in 2015. Until the age of 40, he had various experiences while on active duty in Japan and the United States. He pitched 1591⅔ innings throughout his NPB and major league career. He appeared in 168 major league games (12 starts) and 261 NPB games (214 starts), posting 93 wins, 25 saves, 18 holds, and an earned run average of 3.82.
Director Lee said, “I expect Takahashi Instructor, who has been selected and bullpened in the United States and Japan, to be of great help to the growth of young left-handers.”
The young lefty most expected to grow in the Australian camp is Lee Byung-hun (20). He is from the first charge in 2022 and has the advantage of throwing a fast ball exceeding 150 km per hour. If Lee Byung-hun develops further in terms of command and game management, coach Lee’s thirst for his left hand can be quenched a little.
The oldest pitcher in the team, Jang Won-joon (38), who must make a comeback this year, can also benefit from Takahashi’s advice. Instructor Takahashi challenged the major leagues at the age of 35 in 2010 and has the experience of winning 10 games in 53 games (12 starting games), going back and forth between the starter and the bullpen. Just sharing such an experience can be a great help to Jang Won-joon.
Meanwhile, from the 1st of next month to the 7th of March, Doosan will start preparing for the new season at the Blacktown Baseball Stadium in Blacktown, Sydney, Australia. Doosan is determined to erase the pain of last year’s 9th place and rebuild the dynasty with newly appointed coach Lee.