Annual salary 30 million won → 85 million won. “Increased sense of responsibility” Departing for spring camp in Guam… “We will grow further this year”
Lotte Giants outfielder Kim Min-seok (20), who was leaving spring camp on the 31st of last month, looked neatly cut.
As Kim Min-seok departed for Guam, his first spring camp destination, through Incheon Airport, he said, “I cut my hair short a week ago with the idea of going back to the beginning. He said, “I got a haircut because the spring camp was hot,” and “I wanted to try it because I haven’t had my hair cut short since high school.”
Kim Min-seok, who is in his second year as a professional this year, joined Lotte after being selected third overall in the first round in the 2023 rookie draft.
Kim Min-seok has shown outstanding batting talent since his high school days and has received great expectations as the ‘second Lee Jung-hoo’. He received the ‘Lee Young-min Batting Award’ given to the most outstanding fielder in 2022 at his high school stage, recording a batting average of 0.544.
In the 2023 season, his first year as a professional, he had a batting average of 0.255, 3 home runs, 39 RBI, 16 stolen bases, 53 runs, and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.652.
Minseok Kim, who hit 102 hits, became the 8th high school rookie in history to hit triple digits in his debut season. It was a first ever for the Lotte team.
Kim Min-seok, who showed outstanding performance, had his annual salary increased significantly from 30 million won last season to 85 million won this year. The increase rate reached 183.3%.
Minseok Kim said, “I am very satisfied with my salary. That’s how much his responsibility grew. He emphasized, “He must do well as his salary has increased.”
For Kim Min-seok, this winter was the first rain season since his professional debut. He spent the winter working out at his alma mater, Whimoon High School.
“Two months passed by in an instant,” he said. “I rested and ate a lot. “He also exercised a lot for physical strength,” he said. “I mainly did weight training, and unless it was cold or raining, I also did batting and defensive training.”
Regarding the reason why he chose his alma mater, he said, “The coach from my high school days knew me well, and it is a good environment to exercise in,” and “I don’t feel awkward because there are juniors who worked out with me during my third year of high school.”
In his batting training, he paid attention to the position of his left foot. Minseok Kim said, “The center of gravity tended to shift forward quickly. So he adjusted his position to be more centered.”
Kim Min-seok, who completed the first team spring camp last year, said, “This year is different. “If I felt like I went without knowing anything last year, this time I’m going in with an established set of things to do,” he said, adding, “I hope this year’s camp will be able to grow even more than last year.”
Now that he is in his second year as a professional, Minseok Kim’s goal is to achieve better results than last year in various aspects.
Minseok Kim said, “I want to grow in all areas, including offense, defense, and base running. “Of course, we have to get better results than last year,” he said, expressing his ambition.
What I care most about is on-base percentage. Minseok Kim recorded an on-base percentage of 0.314 last year.
Minseok Kim said, “My biggest goal is to increase my on-base percentage. He expressed his determination, saying, “I want to record an on-base percentage of over 0.350.” 스포츠토토맨
