The Hangzhou Asian Games baseball team, led by head coach Ryu Joong-il, convened and held its first training session at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 23rd. Jang Hyun-seok, the "youngest 19-year-old" pitcher at Masan Yongma High School, who is set to enter the U.S. under contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, also wore a national team uniform on the same day. I wore the number 11 that I wore at Yongmago.
Jang Hyun-seok, who I met after training, said, "It's a little new and I'm very nervous. So far, I am adjusting because I am puzzled," he said. When I asked if there were any seniors who took care of me, I said, "Moon Dong-ju and all seniors take good care of me." "There's no one I've ever been close to, and it's my first time meeting and talking to you, and I think I'm doing it very comfortably because everyone talked to me first," he said.
When the reporters gathered for an interview with Jang Hyun-seok, Na Gyun-an (Lotte) said, "Please take good care of my school's juniors." It's something to be proud of," he cried as he passed by. Jang Hyun-seok, who smiled shyly, said, "I met him for the first time today because I couldn't reach (age). A senior like a star at school," he replied. Other pitchers then threw a word or two, saying, "Hyun-suk is popular," and "Hyun-suk fighting."
Some voices put a question mark on Jang Hyun-suk's physical condition ahead of the call-up, but Jang Hyun-seok said, "I think my condition was not bad when I played recently, and my grades were good." Asked if it might be burdensome to be selected at the youngest age, he said, "It's burdensome. He replied, "I feel awkward and I'm going to die," but when asked how he felt about wearing the national team uniform, he soon smiled brightly, saying, "I'm happy."
He talked about Ko Woo-suk's slider as a pitch he wants to learn. Jang Hyun-seok said, "I want to ask you because I want to learn Ko Woo-suk's slider," adding, "All the seniors are throwing good balls and playing tremendous roles in the professional world, and I want to learn all the know-how of the seniors." "I want to learn how to deal with each other's own batters and how to run the game," he said.
Jang Hyun-seok, who has no professional experience yet, is expected to take the mound depending on the composition of pitchers selected for the national team and the situation of the tournament. Jang Hyun-seok said, "I want to win a gold medal because I'm representing the country as a national team. I don't know when and how I'll throw it, so if you trust me and post it, I'll do my best in my role. I don't know what kind of position it will be, but if you raise it from any position, I want to show you good performance in that position," he said.
Meanwhile, Jang Hyun-seok declared his challenge to the Major League in August without submitting an application for the KBO Rookie Draft. At the time, he said, "It was very difficult to decide because both the KBO League and the Major League were dream stages. However, he explained the background, saying, "I decided to challenge the Major League because I wanted to challenge the world's best stage."
And he signed a contract worth $900,000 (about 1.18 billion won) with the Los Angeles Dodgers to announce his entry into the U.S. stage. John Dibble, scouting director for the Dodgers Pacific region, said, "I've been watching Jang Hyun-seok since I was in middle school. I coached in the minor leagues before working as a scouting director and Josh Beckett was one of the pitchers I was with. "When I see Jang Hyun-seok throwing a curve, it's similar to Beckett," he said.
MLB.com introduced Jang Hyun-seok as the 22nd promising Dodgers player, saying, "He has three pitches above average. The fastball hits a top speed of 97 mph (156 km) and also throws powerful sliders and curves. He has excellent breaking ball power. "The ball control is at a high level, and it can grow to be a mid-level starter or higher," he predicted.
Jang Hyun-suk is expected to have a valuable experience of an international competition with his seniors and start preparing in earnest for the U.S. stage. Asked about the future schedule, including the educational league, Jang Hyun-seok said, "Nothing has been decided after the Asian Games yet."
