‘900 million arm’. It is a label that always follows Jang Jae-young (Kiwoom).
As shown in the down payment, the club has high expectations for Jang Jae-young. However, along with his potential as a fastball pitcher, he was unable to reach his potential for two years following joining due to chronic anxiety regarding pitching.
While playing in the Australian league as a member of Geelong Korea, Jaeyoung Jang had a new experience. A “two-hitter” like Ohtani.
As in high school, I played as a hitter as well as a pitcher, and my results on the mound improved. He pitched 30 innings, striking out 37 while giving up only nine walks. He was the greatest harvest.
Even in Arizona, Jang Jae-young’s two-handed batting practice, the so-called ‘double sword’, continues. He has set a date and is training pitchers and fielders at the same time.
Kiwoom’s experiments obtained as a result of the Australian league, of course, focus on ‘pitcher Jang Jae-young’. It is a way to learn how to throw from the mound while experiencing batting.
The following is a Q&A with Jang Jae-young, who is training as both pitcher and hitter at the Arizona spring camp.
Q. What do you think of the club’s proposal to double as a pitcher?
I am grateful to the team and the coach for opening up so many directions. Anyway, as a pitcher, my greed is strong, so I am training more with a pitcher focus. In fact, I think regarding ’80~90%’ of pitchers.
Q. Isn’t it difficult to combine pitcher training and hitter training?
It’s the first time I’ve tried double batting in the pro world, so I think I need to adapt to a new environment or training schedule. I must be more diligent than other players to be able to digest all sports. I try to sleep as much as possible, and I try to eat a lot. The fielder training time is a little longer on the schedule, but I focus more on pitcher training. In the field, the amount of practice is still insufficient, so we are trying to compensate for that.
Q. Do you feel pressured to receive attention as a two-time pitcher?
No stress. As much as the club opened up the possibility, I think that if I show myself a little better throwing as a pitcher, viewers will also be interested in the pitcher side. Even at the club, since I’m so stressed out as a pitcher, I think they say that to relieve stress and hit a bat. When I entered the bat in Australia, the pitcher was very helpful with the ball combination and things like that. I think that training is diversified to become a better pitcher.
Q. How did experience as a hitter specifically help a pitcher?
I personally felt the reaction to the ball from the plate. I wasn’t sure just by looking at the ball I threw because I mightn’t feel it. In direct at-bat, I was able to be a little more certain of how the batter would react to the ball inside and how it would react to the outside slider.
Q. What did you talk regarding with your father (Jang Jeong-seok, general manager of KIA)?
My dad tells me to just do what I want to do. Because I still have a lot of greed for pitching, I haven’t talked much regarding pitching. I will work hard to show you how to throw better as a pitcher, so I hope you will support me a lot.