The new year to announce the year 2023 has arrived. As much as that, the baseball world dreams of the birth of a new star.
In particular, high school baseball is a dynamic space where many talents circulate through repetition of graduation and admission. In addition, a sudden ‘surprise star’ appears because the growth rate is different on a yearly basis. Or there are those who have not been able to show themselves for a while due to injuries, and then show their true self in the third year. There is no ‘limit’ to the growth of such young players. There is someone who challenges this ‘unrestricted figure’. Park Jun-woo (18), who dreams of becoming the ace of the Yushin, is the main character. I met Park Jun-woo, who is trying to be reborn as a tall ace, in ‘Talk Talk Baseball’.
Baseball, which started as a hobby class,
is now an inseparable part of my life
. Q) Nice to meet you like this. Please introduce yourself.
Park Jun-woo (hereafter ‘Park’): My name is Park Jun-woo, a third year student at Yushin High School. His position is pitcher. He first started playing baseball in the 2nd grade of elementary school as a hobby class at the Bucheon City Little Baseball Team. He started in the regular players’ class around March of the third year of elementary school.
Q) He has a track record of throwing pretty well since his little league days. How did you see ‘Park Jun-woo in Little League days’?
Park: (Laughs) No. I don’t think I did well in Little Baseball. Still, he was a necessary player for the team, and I think he played an important role, but I think he was just not bad because there were many good friends in other teams. He was always in the national team reserve, but had no ties to the national team (again, laughs).
Q) I heard that he doubled as a two-hitter, but now he is a pitcher. When did he decide to pitch?
Park: In Little League, it was natural to double as a pitcher. However, he had the idea of becoming a pitcher since middle school. His dream was to become a pitcher, and coach Hong Seung-won saw his potential as a pitcher in middle school. Because he wanted to grow up as a pitcher, he devoted himself to pitching. The reason he decided to pitch in the future was also because he wanted to pitch even from a young age.
Q) Your physique is quite good. According to the association’s website, if you are 187cm and 90kg, you are on par with most professional players. Is there a secret?
Park: His physique is said to be 187cm on his profile, but he has grown to 190 now and his weight has increased compared to before. Here, more muscles are built, and the skeleton seems to be getting bigger. In particular, he was suggested by pitching coach Yoo Shingo and Yoo Jong-gyeom to increase the amount, which is very helpful in increasing speed and pitch.
There is no reason why he thought he was very tall. He had a habit of going to bed early from a young age, and he also ate a lot of milk. However, the most important thing is that my parents cared about me a lot (laughs). I really want to express my gratitude.
Q) After you started playing baseball in Little League, you went to Bucheon Middle School. Park Jun-woo in middle school, how was it?
Park: When he went to Bucheon Middle School, it seems that he went with only certain expectations. That’s why he doesn’t think he was very good in middle school. However, I liked my second year better than my first year, and as the years passed, my body and skills steadily improved. When he was in middle school, he was always evaluated as a promising player. So, he showed interest in Shingo Yoo from the second grade, and seemed to like it when he saw that he had grown a lot in the third grade. By the way, he seems to have had a rather good effect by gaining weight due to Corona in his 3rd year of middle school. As he gained weight, his body gained more strength.
Now, in the same grade, he threw a ball that would not be pushed back even if he was an ace, and he always started and showed a lot of good looks. I think that middle school was a stage where I grew up and saw a little more of the future.
A fateful encounter, entering Yushin High School. The goal is round 1!
Q) After that, you went on to Yushin High School. I thought there must have been an offer to scout from another school?
Park: Around the middle/late half of my sophomore year, Yoo Shin High School’s head teacher, Min Yu-gi, saw the potential as good and made an offer first. I knew about Yushin High School that it was a good school, so I chose to go to school without much hesitation. I know there was a lot of interest from other schools, but I still came to Yushin High School.
Q) After entering high school, both freshmen and sophomores have experience on business trips. If it’s short, it’s short, but it’s not bad. When you were in the lower grades, what if you gave yourself a score?
Park: (As if agreeing) I had experience since the first grade. In my first year, I was lucky enough to compete in a tournament when my seniors were not there, and I was able to show a good performance at that time, so I think everyone was looking forward to my second year. However, I suffered a back muscle injury for a while in my sophomore year and had a rehabilitation period, so I could hardly play due to balance problems. However, in the last tournament, I went out again for two games. The unfortunate thing is that one game was good, but the other game did not have a good result. However, I thought that if I prepared again, I could do well. If you give points for 1st and 2nd grade, it is about 50 points. It wasn’t always good, but I’m proud that I showed a lot of potential.
Q) Come to think of it, I can’t help but talk about winning the Blue Dragon. How did you feel?
Park: I was really happy when I won the Blue Dragon Flag. I thought it was great because I just won the national championship, but on the other hand, I was stimulated a lot by seeing my fellow friends do well and show their good looks 토토. I also wanted to stand on the final mound and lead the championship.
Q) This year, you have to lead the team mound with ace Lee Ki-chang. What role would you like to play on the team?
Park: This year, not only (Lee) Ki-chang, but all pitchers in my grade are good, so I think I will always throw the ball from the mound without worrying. I want to take on the starting position myself. It’s good to finish the game, but the player who starts the game is good and the flow of the game can be good only when the start is good, so I want to go out as a starter and lead long innings. Wouldn’t that make it easier for the team to win!
Q) Yes, I can’t help but talk about this season. What do you think your organs are?
Park: Above all, I think the strength is the pitching and pitching with good angles using the tall height. At the time of the last phoenix, it came up to 144, but it was not satisfactory. So, in the first half of this year, my goal is to throw up to 150, and I am training a lot during the winter to achieve that goal.
Q) As this is your third year, I can’t help but ask your determination.
Park: This season, Shingo Yu is aiming for three gold medals. I want to improve team performance, and I want to maintain an ERA in the 0-point range over 50 individual innings. At the same time, I believe that if you follow the speed well, you will be able to go pro in a good order. The goal is firm. It is to be selected in the first round of the draft, and I definitely want to achieve it. Please watch. There is also Park Jun-woo in Yushingo.