He changed after serving in the military. Here we go again
Doosan Bears right-hander Kim Min-gyu (25) was surprised by the change in the team’s pitching lineup when he returned to the team after being discharged from the Korean Armed Forces Sports Unit (Sangmu) in June last year. Players who had been evaluated as outstanding players in the first division before joining the military were growing up one by one and taking over the position. Key players were Chung Cheol-won (25) who joined the team after winning the Rookie of the Year award in 2022, and Choi Seung-yong (23), who grew up to be an ace left-handed player. It was also surprising to Kim that Kwak Bin (25), another fellow player of the team, became the ace player in Korea after completing all rehabilitation of his elbow.
Kim Min-gyu got an opportunity in the first division earlier than the three pitchers mentioned above. Since he joined Doosan in the third round of the second rookie draft in 2018 after graduating from Hwimoon High School, he has attracted attention with his stable game management ability and control. Since 2020, he has been appointed from the first division in earnest and pitched in 29 games and 53 ⅓, and in 2021, just before joining the military, he recorded 31 games and 56 ⅓, helping as a substitute starter or bullpen.
The growth of Kim Min-gyu was quite a stimulus to Kim Min-gyu. Kim Min-gyu exercised hard to make a healthier body ahead of his discharge, and he lost about 10kg in the process. As the weight decreased from the early 90kg to the early 80kg, I felt much lighter when exercising, so I accepted it positively.
Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop showed high expectations as he joined the first team as soon as Kim Min-gyu was discharged from the military service in Sangmu. As he had been playing in Sangmu, he expected that he would be able to adapt even if he joined the first team immediately, but after watching pitches in one game for just two days, he informed him to join the second team. Both Lee and his coaches judged that their pitching power had deteriorated. He had another chance in the first team in August, but ended the season with only six appearances last year.
Kim Min-kyu, who met at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 23rd, said, “I thought I did well in commerce and was discharged from the military, but I lost my ball power because of my sudden weight loss.” I decided to go to the second division and try again, but the ball power did not come up as I wanted. Unlike my body, I think it wasn’t balanced. If I weighed 81kg at the time, I’ve gained about 86kg now.”
After experiencing one failure last year, I decided not to rush. Kim Min-gyu said, “I think I was discharged from the military and motivated. I’m trying to train step by step now. When I was discharged from the military, I had a lot of ups and downs. You have to keep your ball speed steady, and even if you don’t get a ball, you have to be hit with a ball, but you can’t get such a ball. I think the result was good when the ball speed averaged 143–144 kilometers and the maximum speed was 147–148 kilometers,” he said, vowing to try to create the best condition.
Kim must now calmly survive the competition with his teammates and juniors who are ahead of him. He is ready. “I just need to be good at baseball. There is no reason why I can’t catch up with him,” Kim said. “The competition is tough, but I think I have to overcome it to become a good pitcher. Professional players are well aware that they are cool-headed. I think the team has recruited good pitchers so far. The best scenario is to compete well with good players and make it to the first division. I was not in the first division (last year) because my skills were poor. I think I can always join the first division if I do well,” he said with a big smile.
It is also a good thing for Kim to meet Cho Woong-cheon, a first-tier pitching coach who joined the Doosan Bears when he was a rookie. “I was glad to see him because he was with me at Doosan Bears when I was a rookie. My coach gave me a lot of compliments, saying that I am more relaxed and my ball is much better than when I was a rookie,” Kim said with a smile.
Kim Min-kyu will enter fierce competition for the fifth starting pitcher at the Sydney spring camp in Australia next month. With Kwak Bin and Choi Seung-yong practically securing two starting pitchers, Kim must survive by competing with Choi Won-joon, Kim Dong-ju, Lee Young-ha and Kim Yu-sung.
“I always couldn’t get better in the beginning, but I got better ball power from summer and fall. If I think about it, I don’t think I threw balls in the winter. I threw a lot of balls from winter this year so that I can do well in summer and spring. I think I threw two to three times more balls this year than in the previous winter. I thought I had to throw a lot in the winter to advance the good time,” Kim said, expecting different results from different preparations.
The biggest goal is to stay in the main league as long as possible. “I have never had a full-time season in the main league. My goal is to throw more than 60 innings if I get a chance to play bullpen session, and more than 100 innings if I get a chance to start. I think my team can definitely play in the Korean Series this year. I hope I can have a chance to throw in a big game,” Kim said.