*This content was translated by AI.
KIA Tigers will depart for the spring camp site in preparation for the 2026 season and begin to quench in earnest.
KIA said on the 18th, "We will leave the country on the 23rd and run spring camps at Amami Kawasho Stadium and Okinawa Kin Stadium located in Amami-Oshima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan from January 25 to March 8."
63 players, including 21 coaching staff and 42 players, will participate in this spring camp. The team consisted of 21 pitchers, three catchers, nine infielders and nine outfielders. Among the 2026 rookies, pitcher Kim Hyun-soo and outfielder Kim Min-kyu were listed.
Coach Lee Bum-ho and nine coaching staff (Son Seung-rak, Kim Joo-chan, Cho Seung-beom, Lee Dong-gul, Kim Ji-yong, Lee Hae-chang, Park Ki-nam, Ko Young-min, and Kim Yeon-hoon) will guide the players in the camp. Four players (Bang Seok-ho, Shin Yong-jin, Lee Jin-woo, Park Kyu-min) and seven players (Jang Se-hong, Jung Sang-ok, Noh Min-cheol, Lee Sang-seop, Cho Hee-young, Park Joon-seo, and Yoo Ji-hoon) accompany the camp to help the players train.
There are a total of 26 pitchers including Yang Hyun-jong, Lee Tae-yang, Lee Joon-young, Jeon Sang-hyun, Nail, Oler, Kim Si-hoon, Kim Hyun-soo, Jung Hae-young, Han Jae-seung, Lee Eui-ri, Hwang Dong-ha, Choi Ji-min, Kwak Do-gyu, Lee Do-hyun, Sung Young-tak, Kim Tae-hyung, Yang Soo-ho, Hong Min-gyu, and Kim Hyun-soo (including newcomers).
What attracts attention is that Cho Sang-woo, who is currently a free agent (FA), is not included in the training list. In the 2025 season, Cho Sang-woo took the mound in 72 games (60 innings) and posted a 3.90 ERA with 6 wins, 6 losses, 1 save and 28 holds. He marked a detailed performance of 27 walks with 55 strikeouts, a 0.277 hit rate, and a 1.52 on-base allowed per inning (WHIP). Cho Sang-woo, who became an FA after the end of the season, has yet to give news on his contract. In the end, he was not included in the list of KIA spring camp.
There are a total of three catchers, including Kim Tae-gun, Han Jun-su, and Joo Hyo-sang. A total of 10 infielders, including Kim Sun-bin, Oh Sun-woo, Lee Ho-yeon, Kim Kyu-sung, Park Min, Kim Do-young, Yoon Do-hyun, Chung Hyun-chang, and Dale, were listed. The most welcome thing for KIA fans is that Kim Do-young's name has also been registered.
Kim Do-young injured her hamstring three times last year. He was first diagnosed with a partial left hamstring injury in the opening game against the NC Dinos on March 22. He then returned on April 25, about a month later, but collapsed again on May 27 due to a right hamstring injury. After suffering two hamstring injuries, he returned to action on August 5. However, he ended the season with another left hamstring injury against the Sajik Lotte Giants on August 7.
Kim Do-young's 2025 season performance is 0.309 (34 hits in 110 at-bats) with seven home runs in 30 games, nine doubles, 27 RBIs, 20 runs, 3 steals (failed), 10 walks, 23 strikeouts, a slugging percentage of 0.582, an on-base percentage of 0.361, an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 0.943, and a scoring-right batting average of 0.294 with a batting average of 1.
There are a total of nine outfielders. Including Na Sung-bum, Kim Ho-ryeong, who hit a huge salary this season for 250 million won, and Castro, Park Jung-woo, Kim Seok-hwan, Jung Hae-won, Han Seung-yeon, Park Jae-hyun, and Kim Min-kyu (new).
This spring camp will be divided into the first and second rounds. First, the team will conduct physical, technical and tactical training at Amami Kawasho Stadium in Amami-Oshima from January 25. After that, he moved to Okinawa on February 22nd and began a full-fledged practice system by holding training and practice games at Keen Stadium from the 23rd to March 7th.
Starting with a practice game against the South Korean national team on Feb. 24, the KIA team plans to boost its sense of practice. After that, he will play four practice games with KBO league teams and return home through Incheon International Airport on March 8.
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*This content was translated by AI.
