Professional baseball team KT was the only one of 10 teams to hold its first training camp in Korea this year. While the other nine teams traveled to the United States, Australia, Japan, and Guam, KT gathered at Hyundai Motor Dream Ball Park in Gijang-gun, Busan. After training for about three weeks from Jan. 1 to 21, KT departed for Okinawa, Japan, on Jan. 23 for a second training session.
The domestic training camp was held at the request of the players. Last year’s training ‘nightmare’ also seems to have had an impact. Last year, KT traveled across the Pacific Ocean and set up camp in Tucson, Arizona, where the team was hit by a series of extreme cold snaps. The players were unable to train properly and struggled to maintain their physical condition, especially in Busan, a city that KT has fond memories of. In 2021 and 2022, 토토사이트 when the coronavirus pandemic prevented the team from training overseas, KT held spring training camps here for two consecutive years. In the 2021 season, the team won its first Korean Series title. As such, Busan is known as the “promised land” for them.
Training in Busan has been described as a “blast” by players and team officials alike.
The players were able to focus on training right away without having to deal with traveling and jet lag, and they were able to spend time with their families in Busan on their days off.
“It was no different from Japan (a popular training destination),” said veteran pitcher Woo Kyu-min (39), “with the sea and the room. Park Young-hyun (21) said, “It was nice to be able to do what I’ve always done without having to adapt.” Team officials supporting the players were also able to work flexible schedules. The coaches were able to travel back and forth between the Korean first team and the Futures (second team) facility to better plan the team’s mid- and long-term plans. The team also reportedly saved money on traveling and staying overseas. A KT official explained, “We came to Busan as a result of putting our heads together to bring the players’ physical condition to the peak,” and said, “We were very satisfied this year.”
Of course, there is no shortage of regrets.
The team doesn’t have a separate indoor training field, so on rainy days, they can only train individually in the fitness center. The training schedule is also subject to the vagaries of the weather. Some players said that the lack of a training center made them lose focus. There are no opponents for practice matches. However, 파워볼실시간 KT said that this is not a big problem as they will have plenty of practice matches in the second training camp.
KT will play a total of five practice games in Okinawa against KIA, Hanwha, and Lotte. They will then return home on the 6th of next month for the exhibition games. KT coach Lee Kang-chul (58) said, “The first training session went well. Please look forward to a solid and victorious KT this year,” Lee emphasized.
