NC`s discovery last year was made by Seo Ho-cheol (28), who made a leap to the third baseman. Seo was seen as a rising star as he became the batting champion in the South Korean military sports unit in 2021. The year 2022, the first season since his comeback, suffered ups and downs. However, since he became the third baseman last year, he has posted a batting average of 287 in 114 games, five homers and 41 RBIs with an OPS of .714. He had two adverse events in head shots last year, but overcame them without any trauma. At the time, he hit a home run even when his nose was fractured minutely. Although his ligaments in both ankles were not intact ahead of the postseason, he returned to the wild card game against Doosan and posted a dramatic grand slam. 스포츠토토
If the gap between 2022 and 2023 is any different, he might want to dispatch his team to Geelong Korea, an Australian professional baseball team. He returned to the team after gaining more sense of play in the game, and became a hit product of NC in 2023. The team's third baseman position was inevitable due to poor third baseman Park Seok-min's retirement and transfer of Roh Jin-hyuk, who was highly likely to be the third baseman, if he had stayed at the FA. However, Seo Ho-cheol's appearance stopped him from agonizing over the third baseman.
NC, which benefited from the deployment of the Australian Baseball Organization (ABL), once again dispatched three promising pitchers to Australia after the end of last year's season. Geelong Korea was effectively disbanded, but it sought cooperation from the Brisbane Bandits. It sent outfielder Park Si-won and sidearm pitcher Lim Hyung-won, who returned from active service, and right-handed fire bowler Han Jae-seung, who showed promise in last year's first team, to Australia.
NC's general manager Lim Sun-nam said, "After the end of the last season, Seo Ho-cheol and others have gained more experience in ABL as a member of Geelong Korea. Brisbane Bandits is a prestigious club with a number of championship experiences in ABL, and we judged that it would be of great help to the growth of players. We will continue to work with Brisbane clubs to find various ways to improve the players' skills," he explained the reason for sending promising players.
It was not easy to play baseball without special support even in an environment worse than Korea. However, he seemed to have returned from more experience and lessons learned. For one, not all of the three players have outstanding records in Australia. Park suffered from a wrist injury. He had a batting average of 231 (18 hits in 78 at-bats) in 24 games with one homerun and seven RBIs.
Lim couldn't ignore the gap in actual games due to his mandatory military service. He threw fast balls, but posted an ERA of 6.61 with one win, one save, and three holds in 14 games. He allowed 18 walks in 16 ⅓ innings.
Han Jae-seung, who pitched in the first division in 11 games last year, showed off his strong pitching, and posted a 5.75 ERA with one win and eight holds in 18 games. His ERA was 3.79 before the game against the Adelaide Giants on Jan. 20, his last appearance in the Australian league, but his ERA soared as he collapsed to eight runs (five earned) in one ⅓.
Manager Kang In-kwon was briefed on all three players who were dispatched to Australia, thinking they would do their best this year. "We have to wait and see in the spring camp, but I think there are roles that we need to play this year. I will look forward to it," Kang said. All of them are in the best physical condition at the NC Dinos spring camp.
Park joined the team as 11th overall in the second round of the rookie draft in 2020. Expectations were high for his athletic ability, which includes batting ability, power and speed. Expectations are high as a successor to Na Sung-beom (KIA), who has now left the team. Post Na joined the team in 2020 and completed his military service as an active player after failing to fully demonstrate his talent for two years. Last year, he recorded a batting average of .250 (25 hits in 100 times at bat) with nine RBIs and an OPS of .707 in 33 games in the Futures League, and gained more experience in Australian games.
Park Si-won said, "Joining the spring camp after the ABL experience, I think I received a lot of help in boosting my senses. Although ABL's athletic environment is inferior to that of Korea, I think it is positive that I have gained practical experience by receiving a good opportunity," adding, "The match continued from Thursday to Sunday, and the group training was held only on Tuesday evening. I used to take a lot of individual training with Korean and American players who joined ABL."
He then introduced the episode, saying, "American players were very interested in the KBO League, and some players contacted me through SNS and asked me various things," adding, "I think I relied a lot on Han Jae-seung and Lim Hyung-won because I lived abroad for a long time. Currently, I aim to complete the spring camp without injury, and I want to start the season by supplementing the parts I think are necessary personally."
Sideam Lim Hyung-won, who joined the team in the second and fourth round of the rookie draft in 2020, can provide diversity with submarine resources that are not in the team. A similar type of Won Jong-hyun transferred to Kiwoom ahead of last year's season, and veteran Shim Chang-min has yet to score zero. This is why expectations for Lim Hyung-won are inevitably high.
Lim Hyung-won said, "The weather was similar in Australia and the U.S., so it helped me adjust to spring camp a lot. While I was with the ABL, I focused on refining my ball control and breaking balls. The power and batting style of the ABL batters were different from those of the domestic players, so it was a new experience," and explained, "While I was with the ABL, I was able to get to know Kansas City, Milwaukee, and Brisbane players through baseball-related and cultural exchanges."