I saw the coach's interview... KIA Young-gun is worried about his first billion won salary? Why do I need to feel safe
Feb 10, 2025
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KIA Tigers left-hander Young-gun Kwak Do-kyu (21) prepares for his second full-time season as a must-win group. Kwak Do-gyu graduated from Gonggo High School and was nominated by KIA in the 42nd place in the fifth round of the 2023 Rookie Draft. He got a chance to make his first professional debut in the first team in his first year, but he was disappointed with only 14 games, 11 ⅔ innings and an 8.49 ERA, showing remarkable growth last year in his first full-time season. In 71 games, he took charge of 55 ⅔ innings and won four games, saved two, held 16 and an ERA of 3.56, quickly establishing himself as a left-handed must-win group. In the Korean Series, he pitched in four games, won two games, and pitched four scoreless innings to lead the championship.
In his third year as a member, he had the honor of becoming a multi-billion-year salary. Kwak Do-gyu signed 120 million won, an increase of 263.6% from 33 million won in annual salary last year, marking the highest increase in pitchers ever in the club.
Kwak Do-gyu said immediately after the announcement of the renewal of his salary "It is an amount that clearly motivates him. I think it's a happy number that makes me think that I should work hard next year as well. My dad told me to pay the monthly rent from this year, so I'll do that. I was going to pay last year, but my father gave it until last year and he said he would show off for the next 10 years," he said with a smile.
Kwak Do-gyu, who has tasted success, naturally has a desire to keep his seat. Therefore, KIA pitching coach Jung Jae-hoon is asking and asking Kwak Do-gyu not to be overly greedy. Kwak Do-gyu chose to stop him because he usually does a lot of research and tries to reflect it in his pitches.
Coach Jung said "(Kwak) Dogyu style itself is the kind of tendency to try something new and learn something new. I did well last year, but I don't think it's all yours yet. So I want to talk to Dogyu or say that what I want to order is to focus on raising the completeness of the few things that I did well last year. After doing well with what you have for about 2-3 years until this year and next year, I hope there's something like this. I think this is something that needs to be supplemented because I'm a little lacking. When that happens, you can try to supplement it, but I'm worried because I'm the type to keep trying new things."
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Last year was a season when I realized a lot as I took off as a first-team player. Kwak Do-gyu said, `I think the thoughts of what to do and what not to do on the mound have been sorted out. Rather than thinking about things, I think the biggest gain is what to do with this ball and being able to fight on the mound while thinking about those necessary things" he said.
Refrain from new attempts does not mean neglecting development. Kwak Do-gyu is preparing to increase the proportion of cutters this season while hosting the first spring camp in Irvine, USA. The cutter is a pitch type that Kwak Do-gyu used last season, but he sealed the cutter in the middle of the season and changed it to make more use of other pitches. After talking with the data team ahead of the camp, we decided to increase the weight of cutters a little more this year.
Kwak Do-gyu used a lot of cutters last year, and after the first half, the data showed that it was better to increase the curve that matched the two-seam fastball. I fought well with my fighting spirit and curve, but if I have another weapon, I will increase my thoughts on typing even if I don't use it. I intend to practice again."
Kwak Do-gyu dreams of becoming a player who will take responsibility for one of the pillars of KIA's bullpen in the future, not a shiny player last year. Since I experienced enthusiastic support from fans while contributing to last year's integrated championship, I want to help them win for the second consecutive year this year.
Kwak Do-gyu said, "(Fans) thank you so much. I am grateful that there are many people who recognize me when I walk around in Gwangju, and there are many people who recognize me even when I go to Seoul from time to time. It's good that you cheered for us a lot compared to 2023. Of course, the goal is to win, and personally, the goal is to increase the strike rate and become a pitcher who throws more innings than last year."
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
