"I eat tacos and hamburgers instead of rice." LG's second baseman who changed his diet, "Why" threw away delicious Korean food

*This content was translated by AI.

National second baseman Shin Min-jae (30, LG Twins) drastically changed his diet at the U.S. spring camp.

Shin Min-jae said through the club at the 2026 LG Spring Camp in Scottsdale, Arizona on the 6th (Korea Standard Time). I'm choosing tacos, hamburgers, and steaks rather than Korean food," he said.

I was curious about the reason why I threw away rice even when I was staying in the United States for about a month and missed Korean food. In particular, Korean food served at LG Spring Camp is well known as a delicacy. Shin Min-jae said, "I'm trying to reduce body fat a little more. I heard that if I have a lot of body fat, it can be difficult to recover during the season, so I've been talking to the conditioning part since December to control my diet. We are reducing rice and replenishing carbohydrates with bananas instead," he explained.

Shin Min-jae, who started as a foster player for the Doosan Bears in 2015 and moved to LG in the second draft of the 2018 KBO after the end of the 2017 season, blossomed 11 years after his debut. He led LG to its fourth overall win in the regular season with a batting average of 0.313 (145 hits in 463) with one home run, 61 RBIs, 87 runs and 15 steals, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.777 to win the first Golden Glove in the second baseman category.

Shin Min-jae's drama-like atmospheric chronic story has also become a model for KBO prospects. "It was a good season," he said, "I think the most important thing is to go to more games this year and spend the season without getting hurt. At the same time, he vowed, "I hope the record follows naturally." "I have a routine that I've been doing before, so I'm trying to go with the big frame as it is. It may vary slightly depending on the condition, but I keep repeating it to keep it as constant as possible," he added.

Before leaving the spring camp, LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop cited Shin Min-jae, who hit his peak last year, as a factor of instability in the 2026 season. The player himself knows the concern best. Diet control is also his own effort to make last year's activities constant.

Shin Min-jae said, "I used to do it separately near my house, but this year I worked out in Jamsil for the first time. At the same time, the program given by the conditioning part was much more systematic and intense. I did a lot of weight training and mobility," he explained.

"When I come to the camp, I'm training with coaches using equipment, but I feel like I'm checking how I look different from last year's camp and now from the season. In particular, young players have a lot of training, so I think the data will be helpful in that regard," he said with a smile.

With his outstanding performance, he also wore the Taegeuk mark at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), which was unveiled on the same day. He was expected to be selected by participating in the first Saipan camp of the national team. However, the proportion of backup utilities has increased due to the line injuries of existing players.

Shin Min-jae said, "I don't feel particularly tired physically. Rather, it feels like the body wakes up quickly because it started preparing for the season a little earlier than others. It is helpful in that the sense of the game and the condition are coming up a little faster," he said, accepting the tight schedule positively.

"Both the national team camp and the LG camp have a really good atmosphere. Overall, our team camp has a higher training intensity. He added, "I usually go to bed at 10 p.m. and wake up at 6 a.m. since 2023, so my training pattern is not very shaken."

This season, LG is trying to win its second consecutive Korean Series title, which it failed to achieve in 2024. After winning the Korean Series for the first time in 29 years in 2023, he sought to win two consecutive games, but only ranked third in 2024. One of the players who is essential for that second consecutive victory is Shin Min-jae. In particular, instead of Hong Chang-ki, who was injured, he played a leadoff role and hit a .300 batting average this season is essential again this year.

Shin Min-jae said, "I think the hitting routine is the most important thing. My routine in practice and my game routine are different, so now I'm setting it to my practice routine. When the season starts, I think we need to change it to match the game schedule. "As I've been building up for years, I feel more and more constant," he stressed.

He said, "I want to play as many games as possible without injuries. I want to show the team winning again. I will prepare well to show you a steady performance until the end of the season so that I can do that," he said.

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*This content was translated by AI.