Участник:"Dongju is scary"
Doosan Bears ace Kwak Bin (24) had the best season of his career this year. Starting with the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) held in March, he was called to all international competitions where professional players participated, including the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and the 2023 Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC). During the regular season, he played as an ace for Doosan's domestic starters. He pitched in 23 games with 12 wins and 7 losses, 127 ⅓ innings, and a 2.90 ERA. After ace Raul Alcantara, he ranked second in the team in the multiple wins and innings category, fully emerging as the mainstay of the team.
Kwak Bin met with reporters at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 25th and said, "I think it was a really high year. There are some things I didn't do well and some things I did well, but I always felt more mature every time I went to the national team three times. "I watched baseball in other countries and thought I should do better, and I thought I should work harder," he said looking back on this year.
I felt that I had grown myself, but I couldn't be satisfied. Having experienced three international competitions, I naturally became humble. I realized more when I saw Moon Dong-ju (20) who was Kwak Bin's roommate and the main player of the gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Games. Since the opening of this year, Moon Dong-ju has been drawing attention by throwing a 160km/h fastball for the first time as a Korean pitcher, and he has been bravely throwing his ball in international competitions, adding the modifier "next ace." In terms of the regular season performance alone, Kwak Bin has the upper hand with 8 wins and 8 losses in 23 games, 118 ⅔ innings and 3.72 ERA, but the potential that figures alone cannot explain is much more threatening.
Kwak Bin said, "To be honest, Dong-ju is scary. How much bigger a player will be, Dong-ju is truly inextricable. I'm already done. You have to admit what you have to admit. "I think Dong-ju will play at the top of the league next year," he praised his junior with all his heart.
You don't even have to go all the way to Mundongju. Choi Seung-yong (22), a team junior left-hander who accompanied the APBC, is also showing rapid growth so that Kwak Bin cannot be relieved. Choi Seung-yong was a swingman this year, recording 34 games, 3-6, one save, 111 innings, and a 3.97 ERA, and contributed greatly to South Korea's runner-up finish with a left-hander must-win group at APBC.
Kwak Bin said, "When I watched (Choi) Seung-yong pitch during APBC, I thought he would have done much better if he threw like that in the season. I think it's for international use. The ball is really good. So I felt more burdened. I thought, "What if I can't do it when the passenger does this?" It was too much of a threat during APBC. I don't always feel safe. "We have to perform better for at least five years," he said.
Kwak Bin took the heavy responsibility of starting pitcher in the APBC final against Korea and Japan. He pitched well against Japan, the world's No. 1 player, with five hits (one home run) and three walks, six strikeouts, and one run in five innings, soothing his regret that he could not play during the Asian Games due to gall symptoms. Although South Korea remained in second place in the 10th inning of extra time with a 3-4 win-win loss, Kwak did his job.
Kwak Bin said, "I've been under a lot of pressure since I was selected for APBC. I didn't throw well just because I thought I had to throw well, so I tried to eat comfortably, but it didn't work out. "I asked the kids to perform better in the national team, if not in the season, and the results came out well," he said.
"Japanese hitters are really good at fastballs. You probably don't know me well, but he was really good at fastballs when he saw me hit all the batters he faced for the first time. This time, I really focused on each ball and threw it in detail. In the regular season, when he started throwing the ball, he dried it endlessly. "I don't want to make the same mistake, so I think I'll have to learn that and do it next season," he added.
Based on this year's experience, he showed his will to grow further next year. Kwak Bin said, "It was a season where I gained a lot of confidence. Being a national team doesn't mean you want to do it again, but you have to be lucky and have skills. I want to go more than number three. Whenever I go to the national team, I feel that there is still a long way to go and not enough. "I will try to fill the regular innings next year without getting hurt," he said.