‘Hulk’ Lee Man-soo, Kang Sung-woo, Cha Il-mok, and Lee Seong-woo all appear! Training 40 future catchers… KBO holds catcher-specialized camp

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Catcher-turned-coaches who have been active in professional baseball for a long time, including ‘Hulk’ Lee Man-soo, gather to support 40 youth catchers who will be responsible for the future of Korean baseball.

The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced on the 30th that it will hold the ‘2026 KBO Academy (Catcher Camp)’ from the 31st to November 4, a four-night, five-day event at the KBO Baseball Center in Boeun County, Chungcheongbuk-do Province, targeting 40 third-year middle school catchers.

The camp was established to support youth players who have difficulty receiving specialized catcher training in the amateur baseball field. Unlike other positions, catchers require separate defensive skills and game management abilities; the purpose is for coaches from professional backgrounds to directly teach them the fundamentals.

The profiles of the coaches are also noteworthy. Four people will participate, including Lee Man-soo, a catcher who represented the KBO League, along with Kang Sung-woo, Cha Il-mok, and Lee Seong-woo, members of the KBO Development Committee.

Lee Man-soo is a legendary catcher for the Samsung Lions. Active at Samsung from 1982, the inaugural year of the KBO League, through 1997, he recorded a .296 batting average, 252 home runs, and 861 RBIs in 1,449 career games. He won the home run championship for three consecutive years from 1983 to 1985, and achieved the batting triple crown in 1984.

After retiring, he gained coaching experience with the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball in the United States and served as manager of the SK Wyverns. Recently, he has also continued baseball promotion activities in Southeast Asian regions, including Laos.

Kang Sung-woo also played as a catcher for the Lotte Giants and SK Wyverns before serving as a battery coach for multiple professional teams. Cha Il-mok played as a catcher for the KIA Tigers and Hanwha Eagles, and worked as a coach after retiring.

Lee Seong-woo had his playing career with SK, KIA, and LG Twins, and has been involved in youth player development since retirement. In August this year, he also served as a catcher coach at the National District Next Level Training Camp for second-year middle schoolers held by the KBO, guiding promising players.

The four coaches will focus on teaching the defensive skills required for catchers during this camp. The training program consists of catching, throwing, stepping, blocking, and tag plays. It covers core catcher defensive movements, from the ability to securely catch pitches thrown by pitchers to accurate throws for preventing stolen bases, and blocking one-bounce balls with the body.

Physical training will also be conducted in parallel. Since catchers are a position that involves repeatedly sitting down and standing up over long periods, programs have been prepared to improve hip flexibility and strengthen lower body and core balance.

The KBO previously held a pitcher-catcher development camp targeting promising third-year middle school players in 2023. At that time, a total of 81 people participated, including 40 pitchers and 41 catchers, with Lee Man-soo and Kang Sung-woo also participating as catcher coaches.

This year, through a camp specialized for the catcher position, players are allowed to learn defensive fundamentals more intensively. In addition to technical training, anti-fraud education will be conducted for proper player life and fair participation in games.

This camp is being held with support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation. Boeun County provides training facilities such as a baseball field and indoor practice ground within the KBO Baseball Center, as well as large buses, while Dong-A Otsuka supports players with water and beverages.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original