I forgot all the past that was stained by drinking discipline and elbow surgery. Choi Choong-yeon (26), the key player of Pilseungjo of the Samsung Lions in the 2023 season, is dreaming of an emergency with a strong determination to “prevent a crisis even if a knife comes into the stomach.”
Choi Choong-yeon was Samsung’s top prospect seven years ago. After attending Gyeongbuk High School, which is famous for baseball, he was recognized for his potential by receiving the first Samsung nomination in the 2016 rookie draft. Later, in 2018, the third year of his debut, he recorded a career high of 70 games, 2 wins, 6 losses, 8 saves, 16 holds, and an average ERA of 3.60.
However, the flower path did not open to Choi Chung-yeon.스포츠토토 Ahead of the start of spring camp in the 2020 season, he was punished for participating in 150 games by the KBO and Samsung clubs for causing controversy over drunk driving. Then, in November 2020, he was briefly forgotten in the minds of fans, along with surgery to reconstruct the medial ligament in his right elbow.
Choi Choong-yeon returned to the first team last year after a period of reflection and rehabilitation, and recorded an average ERA of 4.70 with 1 loss in 38 games. And during this year’s spring camp, he put on his best effort and made a mark on coach Jin-Man Park. Coach Park selected Choong-yeon Choi as the pitching MVP after the camp, saying, “Choi Choong-yeon played more than 1,000 pitches he promised himself, and showed a good performance in the actual game. I was grateful for not only working hard at individual training, but also for inspiring the team to fight.”
Choi Choong-yeon, who we met in Jamsil on the 26th, said, “My condition has been good since the Okinawa spring camp. Now I have to make the balance 100%, but currently it is about 6 to 70% complete,” he said. “This season is more exciting than burdensome. I prepared hard from the camp, and I threw a lot of balls in my own way. The goal is to create a 100% balance until the opening,” he said, announcing smooth preparation for the season.
He is fully prepared to take responsibility for Oh Seung-hwan. Choi Choong-yeon said, “If the manager with good or bad balance calls, he must go on the mound and take responsibility for that inning. So he must always be in the best condition and in the best balance,” emphasizing, “Even if a knife comes into my stomach, I will stop it unconditionally. At the critical moment, the team entrusted the situation to me. No matter where the knife comes into the body, you have to block it.”
Fortunately, Choi Choong-yeon has a Pil Seung-jo constitution from the bone, which allows him to concentrate better in tight situations. He said, “When I concentrate, my field of vision narrows and I become more immersed in the situation. “I feel more stable when the score difference is small than when there is a lot of difference,” he said. Now I don’t even get hit like before about the right part.”
Seven years have passed since the first nomination in 2016. Choi Choong-yeon wants to leave behind the past, which was stained by discipline, surgery, and sluggishness, and now become a top-notch Pil Seung-jo who is supported by Samsung fans again. He said, “This year, regardless of whether I play in the 1st or 2nd team, I want to strike the most ideal balance I think. And I want to be the player the team needs. Then, his grades will naturally follow,” he promised to take a leap.