Will Choi Ji-min, the fifth-ranked player in the 'second-year jinx → rebound from Premier 12' regain his skills as a left-hander in 2023 and prosper
Will Choi Ji-min, the fifth-ranked player in the 'second-year jinx → rebound from Premier 12' regain his skills as a left-hander in 2023 and prosper
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Choi Ji-min (21), who was a must-winner for the KIA Tigers in the 2023 season but suffered ups and downs in the 2024 season, will be able to revive next year.
Choi wore the uniform of Kia as the fifth overall pick in the first round of the second draft of the 2022 Asian Games. He began to stand out in earnest from the 2023 season. Choi has grown into a must-win team for Kia with six wins, three losses, three saves and 12 holds with an ERA of 2.12 in 58 games. He was selected to the national baseball team for the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games and won the gold medal, receiving military service benefits.메이저사이트
It emerged as a hope of Kia's bullpen, but suffered a slump in the 2024 season. Choi posted an ERA of 0.60 through April and cruised to 2.70 per month in May, before collapsing sharply in June. Choi, who posted an ERA of 8.31 in June, collapsed in the 10-point range for two consecutive months in July (14.40) and August (15.43). He also suffered an abdominal muscle injury in August.
He suffered the worst slump, but in September, he rebounded with a one-win, one-hold average of 3.60 in four games and entered the Korean Series entry. Choi Ji-min took the mound in the bottom of the eighth inning in Game 3 of the Korean Series against the Samsung Lions on October 25 and allowed no runs in ⅔ innings. Since then, he has no longer been on the mound, but he got his first career championship ring as KIA beat Samsung to win.
After the season's end, Choi joined the final roster of the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier 12. He showed the possibility of regaining his performance in the 2023 season in the Premier 12. Choi pitched in three games and displayed impressive pitching with an ERA of 2.70 (one run in three ⅓ innings).
Kia has lost its must-winner Jang Hyun-sik to the LG Twins in this season's Stove League, but it still has a strong bullpen. With "Set-up Man" Jeon Sang-hyun and "Closer" Jung Hae-young at the center, younger players including Kwak Do-gyu have also grown. If Choi Ji-min is revived under this circumstance, Kia's backdoor policy can be stabilized further.
In order for Choi to regain his former self, he needs to set a new zero. The number of walks (BBB/9) per nine innings in the 2023 season increased to 7.83 in the 2024 season. The number of walks also reached 40, up by 14 from 26 in the 2023 season. Attention is focusing on whether Choi will be able to overcome this and recover his previous form.