I'm not going to worry director Yeom Kyung-yeop at all', A 21-year-old LG winner said, "I'm still lacking a lot... "I want to grow more"

*This content was translated by AI.

LG Twins' Kim Young-woo (21) prepared for the second season with a strong spirit even in his successful debut season.

Kim Young-woo recently said through the club at the 2026 LG Spring Camp in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, "My mindset is always the same. I'm still lacking a lot. I want to learn a lot and grow more. It is a camp that I want to grow further this year following last year. I always participate consistently with the desire to learn," he said.

LG won the club's fourth integrated championship last year. Rookie Kim Young-woo was one of the main characters. From the opening game, he steadily gained experience in the first division and in the second half, he rose to a must-win group and supported LG's back door. He had the best performance in 66 regular season games with 3 wins, 2 losses, 7 holds, 1 save and an ERA of 2.40 with 56 strikeouts in 60 innings, and 0 with one hold without winning or losing two games (⅔ innings).

In response, Kim Young-woo said, "It was a great honor for the team to win the first year of joining the team. My seniors helped me a lot, so I was lucky to experience the championship. I think the good experience of the 2025 season will help me a lot in my baseball life in the future."

Kim Young-woo, who throws a fastball of up to 158 kilometers per hour, is expected to play as a must-win team again this year. However, coach Yeom Kyung-yeop (58) cited it as one of the causes of anxiety this season. Coach Yeom said at the New Year's greeting last month, "We judge (Kim) Young-woo as very dangerous. Most of them think Young-woo will do well this year, but I think he can go the other way."

He said, "I'm not sure Young-woo has got the hang of it yet. The practice method is very important, but the acceleration and growth can only be achieved next year. If we don't do that, we don't know what will happen again," he stressed.

Kim Young-woo also tightened his tension with the experienced head coach's bone-in advice. Kim Young-woo said, "The director always emphasizes basic skills and routines, and I think that's a really good thing to say. I'm also looking back on my routine and preparing to fit it." "The director said, 'The hard work is labor. He said, "It's an effort to do it on your own, thinking about what you need, and why you need to do it." I think so, too. I exercise while thinking about what I need," he added.

What was the shortcoming of his debut season. Kim Young-woo, who only pitched 31 ⅓ innings in 14 games in high school through surgery and rehabilitation during his high school years, felt limited in his physical strength. To compensate for this, we are putting weight on mobility (mobility, flexibility) exercises from this off-season, but we are training with weight training and a ratio of 5 to 5.

Kim Young-woo said, "I want to develop continuity. I felt my physical strength drop in the second half of the season. The fatigue level increased sharply as there were consecutive pitching. I felt a lot lacking there. I thought that part needed to be supplemented the most. In the second half of the year, the number of walks decreased a lot, but in the first half, there were quite a lot of walks, so I felt that it needed to be supplemented."

"This year, I have a great desire to throw well from the first half of the year. As much as possible, restraint and pitch should not deteriorate even during continuous pitching. The body must be the basis for consistently throwing good balls. So, in the off-season, we focused on weight training to supplement those areas and exercise on movements that can effectively utilize the body," he added.

It is a commendable second year in which he has no intention of worrying about coach Yeom Kyung-yeop. I was willing to follow Lim Chan-kyu's proposal to leave the advance team. Kim Young-woo said, "I was so grateful that Lim Chan-kyu reached out first. "I was able to ask and learn a lot of things outside of baseball, such as how to manage my body, humility, and mental management that I couldn't usually ask my seniors," he said.

"At first, I came to Arizona before the main team and started early in warm weather, so I was able to raise my body's condition smoothly. I'm trying not to overface my physical condition as much as possible. The coaches, coaches, and conditioning coaches also tell us not to get sick and to improve our skills. I am currently in very good condition," he said with a smile.

If Kim Young-woo continues his appearance last year, his chances of winning LG will naturally increase. The player himself is well aware of this. "My personal goal is to play a full season without getting sick. Second, I want to contribute to the team winning the championship. I also have a good memory of going to the last national team and learning a lot from good players. If I have a chance, I want to be selected again, learn a lot, and show good performances," he said.

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*This content was translated by AI.