“Here comes the superstar”…a 21-year-old reserve catcher with a different set of expectations
“Here comes the superstar.”
He hadn’t made the first team, just joined it for a while. But Son Sung-bin, 21, a reserve catcher for the Lotte Giants, was flattered by the attention he received. We can see that there are high expectations for him.
The 2021 first-round pick fulfilled his military obligations by joining the Armed Forces Athletic Corps (Sangsang) just one year after joining the team, and he became a reservist when he was transferred on the 12th of this month. Son finished this year with a .882 OPS in 29 Futures League games (88-for-29) with one home run and 24 RBIs. Last year, he batted 2-for-8 in 69 games (137-for-39) with one home run, 31 RBI, and an OPS of .831. Despite the disparity between the first and second teams, Son Sung-bin left his civilian status with a positive outcome.
Lotte doesn’t have an immediate need for a catcher in the first team. However, they decided to give Son a tour of the first team upon his discharge. Prior to his resignation on the 13th, Son put on a Lotte jersey and trained with senior catchers such as Yoo Kang-nam and Lee Jung-geun, confirming that he is the future of the Lotte outfield.
Sutton was all smiles as well. “I asked him if he had a big party when he got out of the military,” Sutton said. “I decided to train with him and attend power analysis meetings to see how the seniors prepare, what routines they take, how they prepare for games, to learn and feel the atmosphere. After talking to him, he definitely has a deeper understanding of baseball, which is a positive factor,” he said, expressing his expectations for Son.
As he was hounded by reporters for interviews, senior pitchers such as Park Se-woong and Kim Won-joong walked by and laughed, saying, “A superstar is here.” Son Sung-bin laughed nervously. But he was determined. “It still doesn’t feel real,” he said, adding, “I think I’ve become more serious about baseball, and I’ve become more greedy. In the army, I only watched baseball on TV, so I can’t wait to get out and get my feet wet in the first team, and I want to be good at baseball with them.”
“Defensively, I worked hard to build up my credibility with the pitcher, and I also worked hard on the basics,” he said. “As for hitting, I did it the same way with a lot of help from my brothers and a lot of help from the coach.”
A lot of things have changed since he’s been working with pitchers who have first-team experience in the mercantile sector and playing a lot of games on a regular basis. “It’s a lot more important to play than not to play,” he said. I think I’ve become mentally stronger, and I don’t break down easily, and I think I’ve improved because I’ve learned a lot from failures,” he laughed.
Now that the military issue has been resolved, he has only one goal and one eye on the prize. “Seeing the seniors in the first team doing well made me want to go and play in the first team as soon as possible. There are a lot of fans coming, so I want to play baseball with them,” he said, adding, “My goal is to play well in the first team 토토사이트.”