More than halfway to his 70 at-bats goal, KT outfielder’s future All-Star MVP Jung Joon-young is ‘Jung Jo-jun’
The tree that will become the Wizards is growing strong. This is the story of KT outfielder Jung Jun-young (19), who has earned the respect of his commanders with his uncharacteristically confident play. Since his debut year, Jeong has been gaining experience in the first team and is on track to become the first Futures All-Star and win the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.스포츠토토
Jun-young Jung spoke with us ahead of the 2023 KBO League Futures All-Star Game, which will be held at Sajik Stadium in Busan on April 14, and shared his thoughts on being selected as an All-Star and his plans for the future.
On that day, Jung will be playing as an All-Star in the Southern League for his team KT. “I’m honored to be selected (as an All-Star) from my first year, and I’m proud of what I’ve done,” he said, adding, “I want to continue to fill in the gaps in the first team and do better so that I can be selected as a first-team All-Star next time.”
This year, Jung caught the eye of KT manager Lee Kang-cheol with his consistent performance between the first and second teams. With a similar physique, aggressive baserunning, and the same outfield position, he has been called the “second Choi Sung-ho. His role model is also Choi Soo-ho. Jung Jun-young was called up to the first team on July 13 to replace Choi, who was sidelined with a microfracture in his right big toe.
“I think the manager likes my style of baseball, which is to play with confidence and not be intimidated. I will continue to play with more confidence in the future,” he said encouragingly.
He appeared in 31 games with the first team this year, batting .292 (14-for-48) with six RBIs and six runs scored. With 55 at-bats so far, it’s only a matter of time before he reaches his pre-season goal of 70+ first-team at-bats.
“I read my article, and I saw that my first goal was to have more than 70 at-bats in my professional debut. I’ve had 55 at-bats now,” he said. “At first, I was less confident and more nervous, but the more I went up (to the plate), the more confident I became. I look at myself and think, ‘I’ve grown a lot,’ and I’m proud of myself.”
When asked why he initially set a goal of 70 runs, he smiles and explains, “I thought 100 runs was too much, and 50 runs was a little disappointing, so I decided to set a goal of 70 runs, which is in the middle.” “I think I’m going to reach my goal, but I’m not going to settle for that, I’m going to set another goal. The only thing I’m lacking is that I’m not making strong balls yet, but I’ll take care of it in the second half and show a good performance.”
He also revealed his desire to win the MVP award in his first All-Star game, and he was very confident. Jung Jun-young said, “I have enough confidence now. I’m confident of winning the MVP.” He said.