“Who is he?”.
Lotte Giants transfer student Shim Jae-min (28) achieved a dream starting win 10 years after joining the team. On the 13th, he started in the Gwangju game against the KIA Tigers and pitched well until the 5th inning with only 3 hits, 2 walks, 1 strikeout, and 1 run. Kangwoo Cold led the team to a 3-1 win. It was his first win as a starter since joining the team in 2014.
Recently, it was not intimidated by KIA’s Kangta ships, which numbered over 300 units. With one out in the bottom of the first inning, Lee Woo-sung’s hit allowed second base due to an error by the third baseman, but he did not allow a run to score due to his calm pitching. The only run allowed was a timely hit to Woo-sung Lee in the bottom of the 5th inning with 2 outs and runners on second base with a 3-0 lead.
He completely defeated Na Seong-beom and Choi Hyeong-woo, the strongest duo in KIA with an OPS of 1.000. Number 5 Kim Seon-bin also neutralized the cleanup trio’s bats, giving up only one walk. The curve (19 pitches), centered around a fastball with a maximum distance of 143 km, stole the timing. The changeup (21 pitches) was also sharp, and the slider was only thrown 5 pitches.
He was born in Busan. Graduated from Kaesong Middle School and Kaesong High School. He was an ace with a promising future. When he heard the Busan Seagulls singing together while wearing the Lotte uniform, he wanted to throw. However, the new KT made a special nomination. He played an active part as a bullpen pitcher at KT. He had a dream of becoming a starter, but had no choice but to give up.토토사이트
Selection was an old dream. Since 2015, he has served as a key reliever before completing his military service. Even upon his return, he played as a bullpen pitcher rather than a starter. In the opening April, he suffered an extreme slump and was sent down to the second team. Suddenly, last May, he finally returned to his hometown in a trade for infielder Lee Ho-yeon.
Lotte needed a left-handed bullpen member, so they recruited Shim Jae-min. He wasn’t in the first team right away. He had to undergo quenching in the 2nd group. Lee Ho-yeon, who moved to KT, flew around and received media attention. On June 22, he was promoted to the first team and played as a reliever. He expanded his position by playing up to 3 innings and showing stability with an earned run average of 2 runs.
Shim Jae-min said, “After the trade, when I was in the 2nd team, I saw a lot of Hoyeon’s plays and articles. To be honest, I was very impatient. I also had a strong desire to move up quickly and show something. So, I trained a lot in the 2nd team, focusing on running and weight training. “I did a lot of weight management,” he said.
The opportunity to transform into a starter was a good pitch against KIA on August 12th, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) in 3⅓ innings. He was selected as a starting pitcher in September when he showed promise in a situation where a starting pitcher was needed. On the 7th, he made a mark by allowing 1 run in 5 innings against Samsung, and on this day, he threw an even better ball and earned a pleasant first starting win in his hometown.
There was motivation. He wanted to make himself known properly in his hometown, Busan. “When I go out with (Park) Se-woong and (Na) Gyun-an, fans recognize them. But when he looked at me, I had the feeling, ‘Who is he?’ Every time, I felt like I had to work harder. “If I do well, you will recognize me,” he said with a smile.
With the emergence of Shim Jae-min, it is possible to fill in some of the gaps in the starting lineup caused by Park Se-woong and Na Kyun-an’s participation in the Asian Games. Shim Jae-min said, “Coming to my hometown has helped me a lot. It’s nice to have more opportunities here than when I was at KT. If there is a given mission, I will do my best to accomplish it. It’s still difficult after only 5 episodes. Now I want to try a quality start.”