KIA had its own practice game at Nara Bunda Ball Park in the outskirts of Canberra, Australia on Tuesday (Korea time). The team split into two black-red teams. Both teams had 10 batters and pitchers also faced off on the given number of pitches. The practice focused on content rather than results. Veteran Choi Hyung-woo, Na Sung-bum, Kim Sun-bin, and Yang Hyun-jong were absent, and the rest of the players' names were also related to their intention.
This practice game slightly revealed the changes KIA is preparing for this season.
The first change is in the outfield. Choi Won-joon, who was appointed as corner outfielder after serving in the military last year, played center field, while Socrates Brito, a former center fielder, took the left field position. Socrates, who has played center field since joining Kia in the 2022 season, is notable.
As a starting center fielder at Kia before joining the military, he was an outfielder who boasts a wide range of defense based on fast feet. Notably, he often showed strong and accurate throws based on strong shoulders to block additional bases. Socrates is a batter at the center who showed outstanding productivity after joining the team. He was able to continue playing with the bat for three years until this season. However, it is true that most of the fielding decisions were made due to his lack of capacity in determining the batting average and throwing. Kia planned the transfer of the two players' positions through a strategy seminar last month, and newly appointed coach Lee Bum-ho is carrying out the plan in earnest.
The second change is a change in the competition structure for first base players.
Lee has joined the race to become the first baseman, which continued under the leadership of Byun Woo-hyuk and Oh Sun-woo. Lee, who trained at first base since the closing camp last year, intensively conducted the training at the first base during the upcoming spring camp after an off-season. Lee started Lee as the first baseman in a practice match, focusing on skills and performance tests. Byun and Oh played in games one after another as both players belong to a team. Both Byun and Oh, who are called the next big guns, are classified as hitters, but there are also question marks over their completeness in defense. Amid this development, Lee, who achieved career high as an outfielder last year, and has emerged as a strong runner.
KIA will train in Australia until March 20, pass through Incheon International Airport, and begin its second camp schedule in Okinawa, Japan from March 23. It will hold six practice matches with four teams namely KT Wiz (25th, March 4th), Yakult Swallows (27th), Lotte Giants (28th, March 3rd) and Samsung Lions (March 1st). This season's strategies and changes, which began to take shape through practice matches, will be verified through this period to determine whether they will be applied to actual games.
BY: 토토