Choo Shin-soo (41‧ SSG), the best fielder in the history of Korean baseball, is a player who has already achieved tremendous achievements in his career. Usually these players have their own, and they don’t try to deviate very well from that range. This is especially true for players in their 40s, an age where ‘change’ is feared. It’s called inertia.
However, Choo Shin-soo is making a pretty big change ahead of the 2023 season. He touched some of the batting form he had maintained until last year. He wasn’t forced to, or pushed on his back. He made that decision himself. He corrected his batting form while working out off-season, and showed up at camp with that direction. SSG hitting coach Lee Jin-young recalled, “When the camp started, they asked me to pay close attention to that part (changed batting form).” 먹튀검증
At first, everyone was surprised by the change that the unpopular player attempted. Until last year, Shin-soo Choo had his back leg slightly bent when hitting. In this case, there was a part where his shoulder was rolled in while his knee was returning to its normal position when the bat was released. With this batting form, he had success in the major leagues, so it’s not that he’s bad or wrong. I could have just let it go. However, Choo Shin-soo tried to transform into a form of boldly stretching his hind legs for a better hit.
If so, why did you change the form? Choo Shin-soo said that he reviewed the good times ahead of the exhibition match against LG held at Jamsil Stadium on the 28th. Choo Shin-soo said, “I switched to a hitting form with my legs raised from around the time I hit 24 homers, the most in a season in the major leagues (2019). At that time, I tried a hitting form that stretched my hind legs once. There is. I didn’t do it (in that form) when I came to Korea, but I’m trying this year.”
It can also be seen as a coping problem for the course. Coach Lee Jin-young believed that Choo Shin-soo had some weakness in his body ball last year, and that the change in batting form this time can compensate for that weakness. Shin-soo Choo expected an effect in that area, but he saw that the most important point was the ‘consistency’ of hitting. The more you move your body, the longer the slump will last. Choo Shin-soo explained, “I modified it for consistency rather than coping with the body ball.”
Choo Shin-soo finished this year’s exhibition game in the best condition. He is a player who originally focuses on the opening rather than the performance of the demonstration game. Even in the major leagues, his exhibition performance has not been very good. But this year, the energy is a little different. He had a batting average of 0.385 in 10 exhibition matches. He walked seven while striking out four, bringing his on-base percentage to 0.515. His OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) is 1.092. There is no problem with his body at all.
Coach Lee explained that the ‘quality’ of the batted ball has changed beyond simple performance. Coach Lee said, “The batting form has changed, but the ball itself has completely changed. There were a lot of line drive balls, but now there are more balls that spin in the opposite direction.” Doing is to give the ball spin,” he said, confident that Shin-soo Choo’s batting style will be different this year.
Choo Shin-soo, who spent the spring camp in good health for the first time after coming to the KBO League, is staring at 2023 by correcting various things like this. Although he is one year older, officials who have seen a series of processes expect that “it may be the best season since joining.” Choo Shin-soo, who does not have the word ‘approximately’, still shows his sincerity in baseball.