LG, who picked "Because you're Kang Hyo-jong," cherished it for 4 years...Say goodbye to Sangmu as a reward player before joining the military

LG, who picked "Because you're Kang Hyo-jong," cherished it for 4 years...Say goodbye to Sangmu as a reward player before joining the military

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"Because you're Kang Hyojong."

In August 2020, the LG Twins named pitcher Kang Hyo-jong, who was a senior at Chungam High School, as the first rookie of the following year. At the time, LG was the third-ranked team in the Seoul area, following the Kiwoom Heroes and the Doosan Bears. Cha Myung-seok, who chose Kang Hyo-jong among the following candidates: Jang Jae-young of Kiwoom and Ahn Jae-seok of Doosan Bears, did not say long. He said he nominated "because it's Kang Hyo-jong."

Cha Myung-seok, the general manager, added, "I've checked this pitcher since I was a freshman." He also explained, "When pitching and hitting return, it is not easy for a rookie to grow. We, who use Jamsil Stadium as our home ground, need pitchers more than hitters."

LG also decided on the first nomination despite Kang's injury history. He missed the Golden Lion in June 2020 and did not have a proper game until July in high school. Kang played in more games from his freshman year to his sophomore year. "I have coach Kim Yong-il. I don't worry because I have the best training coach in Korea," said Cha Myung-seok.

Kang pitched 10 ⅔ innings in five games in the Futures League in 2021, his first year as a member of the team. In 2022, he showed solid growth by posting three wins, three losses and an earned run average of 4.68 in eight games. After LG's regular season ranking was determined, he also had a chance to debut in the first division. On Oct. 7, 2022, he allowed five hits, four walks, four strikeouts, and two runs in five innings against NC Dinos, securing his victory.

Last year, he was selected as a starting candidate in the spring camp and secured the starting position of five through exhibition games. In his first appearance in the season, he became the winning pitcher by allowing no runs in five innings, but has displayed no clear results since then. He was good at throwing breaking balls, but he often had difficult matches due to his lack of fastball control.

In the end, the plan to serve as the fifth starting pitcher for Kang Hyo-jong was scrapped after April. Kang returned to the top team only in October and finished the season with six runs and five earned run in two games, five innings. As a substitute starting pitcher this year, he allowed only three runs in one ⅓. He was preparing to join the military in December. Kang will join the mound until June 2026 along with Lotte Giants' Kim Jin-wook, NC Dinosaurs' Song Myung-ki and Lee Yong-joon.

After being discharged from the military, he will be on the mound wearing KIA's uniform rather than LG's. The KIA Tigers announced on Monday that they appointed pitcher Kang Hyo-jong as compensation for Jang Hyun-sik who signed an FA contract with LG.

A KIA official said, "We highly evaluated Kang Hyo-jong's growth potential as he joined the professional team with the first nomination, and there was no disagreement at the meeting with the coaching staff. He is about to join the military in December, and if he grows further while serving in the military at Sangmu, he will be named Kang Hyo-jong as a compensation player, judging that it is a resource that will be of great help to the team."

Earlier on the 11th, LG signed a four-year down payment of 1.6 billion won, an annual salary of 3.6 billion won, and a full guarantee contract of 5.2 billion won with Jang Hyun-sik. At the time, the LG club explained, "Jang Hyun-sik showed his value through this season as an intermediate pitch with proven ball control and control. We expect it to be of great help to the management of our bullpen pitchers." 먹튀검증

Jang was classified as a Class B FA. Other than the original team that recruits Grade B FA, the team has to pay compensation to one other than the 25-member protected player and 100 percent of the salary of the player in the previous season (Jang Hyun-sik is 160 million won or 200 percent of the salary of the previous season) or 200 percent of the previous season. Kia, which received LG's list of protected players, chose Kang Hyo-jong.