"Lee Dae-ho - Kim Tae-kyun's swing is wrong, I should imitate it" Yum Liang, "I'm hitting hitters who only imitate ML"... He emphasized "your own swing."

*This content was translated by AI.

"How did Ichiro, Lee Dae-ho and Kim Tae-kyun succeed. Are all those swings wrong?"

While talking about players who are weak in coping with fast balls, he suddenly expressed regret over the recent attitudes of batters.

LG Twins manager Yeom Kyung-yeop (57) met with reporters ahead of the 2026 KBO exhibition game against SSG Landers at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 19th and stressed, "Even if you try to swing according to the trend, you need to know exactly how major leaguers are hitting and trends."

Major leaguers' swing, which focuses on upper swing, has recently been easily accessible through YouTube and others. These days, young players often train individually through YouTube or by attending academies individually. However, even if the swing is changed, the first thing to do is to figure out the exact reason.

Coach Yeom said, "What's more important than the trend is the basics and then there's the trend. In the absence of basics, trends can further destroy (swinging)," he said.

Basically, major leaguers are several times higher than KBO league hitters in their natural strength, time and skills devoted to weight training. Through the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), we were able to see how big the level difference is.

Park Hae-min also said he was surprised to see batting training of Dominican Republic players who faced off in the quarterfinals. "Dominica players have good strength and physicality, so I thought they would hit home runs during practice batting, but they didn't hit it like that at all," he said. "I knew from seeing the same players (Fernando) Tatis Jr., (Juan) Soto, and (Manny) Macha that they hit with their own direction and clear direction." "Our national team players also talked with each other feeling that hitting hard and far is not everything."

The important thing is not to copy unconditionally, but to know your characteristics and do what suits you well. However, he pointed out that not only the first-team players but also the second-team players want to wear clothes that don't suit him.

Coach Yeom said, "These days, amateurs and second-tier players are only following the trend. The same goes for our 2nd Army. "Both big and small players are swinging the same way," he said. "Then how did Ichiro succeed in the past, and how did Lee Dae-ho and Kim Tae-kyun succeed. Are all those swings wrong. I don't think so. So in the end, we have to emulate swings like Lee Dae-ho and Kim Tae-kyun," he said.

There is something in common between the two. They had outstanding physical conditions and experienced home run king, but they were more like school hitters with long balls than typical big guns. In addition to the batting average, the on-base percentage itself was high, and he had all the ability to send the ball far away.

"They have power but also accuracy," he said. "This is the best swing. The most important thing than the trend is to make my baseball.

The national team players also had only two hits against the Dominican Republic, which throws a ball in the mid-to-late 150 kilometers per hour in the WBC. Most hitters in the KBO League often have difficulty attacking even if it is only 150 kilometers. In response, Yeom emphasized that a different swing is clearly needed to cope with the fast ball, and even if you follow the Major League players, you should know and follow them accurately.

"It's important to come out short (swinging) until it comes out. "That's how you hit the 150-kilometer ball," Yeom said. "How can major players hit the 160-kilometer ball? It's because it's short (to come out). It's a pity that even the amateurs are copying these things wrong because they misunderstand them," he said.

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*This content was translated by AI.