KT Wiz Kang Hyeon-woo (22) is a ‘natural catcher’.
Kang Hyeon-woo, from Yushin High School, joined KT after receiving the 2nd overall nomination in the 2nd 1st round in the 2020 rookie draft. In the same year, he formed a battery in So-young Jun and Yoo Shin-go, who joined as the 1st nomination. In 2019, he also received the ‘Lee Man-su Po Award’ given to the best catcher in amateur baseball.
The following year, in 2021, he enlisted in the military as an active duty soldier. We met on the 26th at KT Wiz Park in Suwon and introduced him as “I worked in an artillery unit. I was a gunner.” The armored vehicle in charge of mortar shooting consists of a team of three, including a tank commander, a gunner, and an assistant gunner. After the commander sets the direction frame and position of the gun according to the shooting specifications, the gunner and the assistant gunner load and fire the ammunition.
At the time of military service, his position had nothing to do with the role of ‘catcher’ on the ground, but he definitely grew up after being discharged. Although he has a small sample, he has a high batting average in the 50% range and a high stealing rate.
Kang Hyeon-woo stopped the opponent’s stealing attempt five times in an exhibition game with the LG Twins held at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 23rd. In particular, in the game on the 23rd, he came out with a great defense in the 7th inning and blocked Park Hae-min, who had been the king of stealing four times, twice in the 7th and 9th innings. Shin Min-jae (8th inning), LG’s runner-up specialist, was also tagged out for Kang Hyeon-woo’s accurate throw to second base. 바카라사이트
In the game the next day, Kang Hyeon-woo stopped Oh Ji-hwan, who joined the 20 (home run)-20 (steal base) club, from stealing bases last year. In the match against SSG Landers on the 26th, where he started as the 8th hitter and catcher, he worked with 5 pitchers, including Benjamin, and allowed only 1 run until the 9th inning, leading a 4-1 victory. On this day, a total of three steals were allowed, including a double steal, and SSG runners stole the base when the pitcher used a breaking ball. In the case of Choi Jeong and Heredia’s double steal, Benjamin’s pitch was one-bound. No matter how fast and accurate the catcher’s throw is, it is difficult to prevent stealing attempts if the pitcher loses his timing. The stealing rate in demonstration games is high at 0.625.