Kang Jin-sung (31) of the Kiwoom Heroes in professional baseball is encouraged by his senior’s advice and starts a new challenge in the fourth team.메이저놀이터
Kiwoom recruited Kang Jin-sung, an outfielder from SSG Landers, on the 11th. Kang Jin-sung has the advantage of being able to play multiple positions both inside and outside of the medium- and long-distance right-handed hitters. We expect Kang Jin-sung to play various roles in offense and defense next season,” he announced.
Kang started his professional career by joining the NC Dinosaurs through the fourth round (33rd) of the 2012 Rookie Draft. Throughout his career at NC, Doosan, and SSG, Kang had a batting average of 266 games (325 hits in 1,236) with 26 home runs, 155 RBIs, 145 runs, 24 steals, and OPS .707. In 2020, he had a career-high season by batting .309li (122 hits in 395 times at bat) with 12 home runs, 70 RBIs, 53 runs and 9 steals, but he has not grown as much as expected since then. This season, he had a batting average of .185 (five hits in 27 times at bat), two RBIs, four runs and OPS .452 in 16 games.
After the season ended, Kang was notified by SSG of his release. After coming to SSG through a trade, he failed to show any performance and was eventually excluded from the power plan. Leaving the team, Kang immediately visited his team. Upon his release, he was contacted by Kiwoom and Kang readily signed a contract, quickly joining his fourth team.
Kang Jin-sung said, “I had some idea about the release. I was thinking that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to live a second life if no team called me. It was my first time to be released, so I was just having a cup of coffee with a friend, but suddenly, an unknown number called me. Kiwoom called me right away. So I said, ‘Thank you’ right away and proceeded with the contract.’ He continued, “When I got the call, I didn’t look back and said I would do it with Kiwoom. I’m so grateful. I think the contract went fast because of you.”
Kang Jin-seong, who has moved to the FA compensation player (Doosan) and trade (SSG) several times, was released from the team and this is the first time he has moved a team. “When I was traded to SSG, I was really busy because it was May,” said Kang Jin-seong, who said, “I think I will be able to prepare a little better this time because the season is over and I am going to a new team after being released.”
Kang, who played in more than 120 games for two consecutive seasons in the KBO League in 2020 and 2021, played in the NC Dinosaurs, only played in 114 games in the last three seasons. As more games started to be played, his confidence also declined. My goal for next season is to find confidence that I lost. Lee Myung-ki, who had recorded 1,104 hits in the KBO League and announced his retirement this year, gave advice and supported Kang.
“I want to find confidence next year,” Kang said. “Honestly, I called my seniors a lot this time. I relied a lot on Myung-ki, who I had known well since NC. Myung-ki is retiring this time, and when I told them about my situation, he said, “Why do you think about quitting when you can still do more? Wake up and work harder in baseball. Finding confidence is the first thing.” Hearing that made me think that I need to find confidence quickly. I want to find confidence quickly because I was not confident this year,” he said, expressing his gratitude to Lee Myung-ki, who gave generous advice to him.
Kang said, “At the end of the day, if you do well, you will gain confidence. All players will be the same. If you don’t do well, you don’t want to go to games and avoid them. However, if you have confidence that you can hit well in any situation, you will swing in front of the coach and appeal to him. I want to find that confidence. Whether I am a starter or a substitute, I want to establish my baseball with confidence in any situation.”