The Sangmu Baseball Team of the Korean Armed Forces Sports Unit is the absolute powerhouse in the KBO Futures League. It has dominated the Futures League since 2012 by winning the Southern League title for the last 12 consecutive years.
Sangmu is the only place where young prospects in their 20s can play baseball while fulfilling their military duty. The police baseball team, founded in 2005, has participated in the Futures League since 2006, but as it was disbanded after 2019, prospects for each KBO league team are focused on Sangmu.
It is a time for players in their early 20s to grow by accumulating constant game experience, who began to gain strength by focusing on baseball through regular life and exercise after entering Sangmu, which is disconnected from the outside world. As more players become desperate for baseball and find it fun, their performance is bound to be good.
It is a powerful team, but it is likely to become stronger next year. Thirteen players who were finally accepted to Sangmu in June entered the Nonsan Training Center on the 18th. After completing basic military training, they will serve in the military in Sangmu.
13 players, including LG pitcher Lee Jung-yong, KT pitcher Bae Je-sung, NC pitcher Koo Chang-mo, Cho Min-seok, catcher Park Sung-jae, infielder Oh Tae-yang, outfielder Oh Jang-han, KIA catcher Kim Sun-woo, outfielder Han Seung-yeon, Samsung pitcher Heo Yoon-dong, outfielder Cho Min-sung, Hanwha pitcher Yoon San-heum and infielder Park Jung-hyun, will join Sangmu’s team from next season. 랭크카지노
Notably, three starters with extensive experience in the first division, namely Koo Chang-mo (26), Bae Je-seong (27), and Lee Jung-yong (27), have joined the team. The three starters, who are proven in the first division, joined the military in their late 20s and full of age.
Koo was also a top-class player in the main league. He has pitched overwhelmingly in 45 games (42 starts and 256 ⅔ innings) over the past four years since 2020, with 21 wins, eight losses and one earned run average of 2.14 strikeouts and 266 strikeouts. During this period, he failed to throw even a single inning due to fatigue fracture in his left arm, repeated surgery and rehabilitation, and recurrence of injury. Since he is undergoing surgery and rehabilitation in October, he needs time to become a full-fledged baseball player in Sangmu, but he is expected to bomb the Futures League when it is fully operational late next year or next year.
Bae is also a proven pitcher who has played for five seasons as a starting pitcher. Having achieved 10 wins for the first time as a native KT pitcher in 2019, Bae, who had 10 wins for two consecutive years until 2020, was a member of KT’s “starting kingdom.” His overall record in seven seasons in the first division is 40 wins and 46 losses with 501 ERA in 154 games (116 starts and 688 innings). He also contributed to KT’s runner-up ranking this year with eight wins and 10 losses and an earned run average of 4.49, in 26 games (24 starts and 130 ⅓ innings).
Lee Jung-yong also joined the Sangmu team after winning the title with LG, which rose to the top in 29 years. As a former first LG Twins designation in 2019, he recorded a total of 202 games (13 starts, 249 ⅔ innings) with 17 wins, 9 losses, 4 saves and 42 holds with 3.57 strikeouts. He has served as a bullpen pitcher, but managed to transition to starting pitcher during this year’s season. Since the end of June, he has been a starter for 13 games (60 ⅔ innings), with four wins, two losses and a 4.01 ERA.
Lee Seung-min (Samsung) and Kim Hyun-soo (KIA), who were the core of this year’s selection team, were discharged from the military, but it is expected that Bae Je-sung and Lee Jung-yong will make a one-two punch next year. Attention is focusing on whether they will be able to surpass the 800 percent winning rate, which is not easily seen in baseball, beyond the highest winning rate (.788) recorded in 2022 with 78 wins and 21 losses.