온라인바카라In baseball records, the number ‘6’ represents the defensive position of shortstop. However, there are many shortstops who represent, or have represented, Korean professional baseball who have chosen to wear the number 7. One such example is Kim Ha-seong, who plays for the San Diego Padres in Major League Baseball (MLB). Park Jin-man (manager of Samsung), Lee Jong-beom (coach of KIA), and Ryu Joong-il (manager of Hangzhou’s Asian Games team) all wore the number 7 during their careers.

But the original No. 7 is none other than former LG coach Kim Jae-bak (69). Kim wore No. 1 until his high school days, then switched to No. 7 when he went to Yeungnam University and has worn it ever since. In 1977, Kim joined the Korea Cosmetics team in the unemployed baseball league and won seven titles in his first year. At the third Super World Cup in Nicaragua that year, he won three titles in batting, most hits, and stolen bases, helping South Korea win the tournament.

He also wore the number 7 in 1990 when he moved from MBC Cheongnyong to the LG Twins and immediately won the Korean Series title. Kim was named the founding manager of the Hyundai Unicorns in 1996 and led them to four Korean Series titles. After becoming a manager, he wore number 70. The “lucky seven” has always been a part of his baseball life.

During the 1970s and 1980s, he was the best and most popular baseball player in South Korea. He was so popular that he was the number one choice for CF models and was even featured as a cartoon character.

But he wasn’t just good at baseball. He was good at anything with a ball. Most notably, billiards. At his peak, his official pool score was 700. “I was a founding member of the baseball team at Yeungnam University, but it wasn’t organized yet, so I had a lot of time. I played intensively, and my billiards skills improved. Nowadays, I don’t play billiards often, so my skills have decreased a bit,” he laughed. He is considered one of the best billiards players in baseball because of his ‘switch-hitting’ technique, which allows him to use both his right and left hands.

He was also good at soccer, volleyball, and basketball. He has been playing with various balls since he was a child. “At Yeungnam University, soccer, volleyball, and basketball were among my liberal arts courses. “I didn’t have time to practice other sports because I was training for baseball, but when I had a practical test, I just went and did it once and got an A,” he says.

His favorite ball game is golf. He was a regular at the baseball equivalent of a golf tournament. At his peak, he hit in his early 70s, and now he’s in his late 70s. “I don’t drive as far as I used to, but it doesn’t make a difference in my scores. I’ve always been more of a short game player than a long game player.”

People who have actually played golf with him are surprised by his somewhat sloppy swing form. Then they’re surprised to see him shoot scores in the 70s with that stance.

His swing still has a baseball stance to it. He doesn’t hit as many home runs and doesn’t travel as far as other baseball players. But he makes up for it with his approach shots and putts, which require a lot of precision.

Kim first started playing golf in the late 1980s, towards the end of his playing career. As soon as he bought a golf club, he went straight to the field. Naturally, at first, he would often miss. Many times I would roll it and get to the hole. But as soon as he got going, the ball would go in, and within two years he was a single player.

“In any sport, whether it’s baseball or golf, the basics are the most important. I had a good feel for the game and improved quickly, but without the basics, I hit a wall at some point. If I had learned the basics from the beginning, I would have played much better.” Based on his experience, he recommends that people who want to start playing golf for the first time should definitely take lessons. “I recommend taking lessons for at least a year to get the basics right. It can be a hassle at first, but it will pay off in the end,” he says.

Despite being 70 years old in South Korea, he is still in great shape. When he was wearing a baseball uniform, he weighed 77 kilograms. After he stopped coaching, he dropped down to the low 60s, but he’s been around 72 kilograms for nearly a decade. “I still eat well, whether it’s meat or vegetables,” he says. However, if I feel like I ate a little too much at lunch, I try to control my dinner portion to maintain my weight,” he says. Every other day, he walks 70 to 80 minutes at a brisk pace, and he keeps up his muscle work at the gym.

The exercise that has given him the most results is push-ups. He does 150 to 200 a day. Do five to seven sets of 30 at a time. “I started doing push-ups a few years ago because my shoulders were hurting. The more I did them, the less pain I felt in my shoulder, and after a few months, I didn’t feel any pain at all. Even though it’s a light bodyweight exercise, I don’t feel any pain in my wrists, elbows, or shoulders after doing push-ups.” “I’ve seen a lot of injuries in my time as a player and coach, and while surgery is sometimes necessary, there are ways to strengthen the area around the sore spot to help it heal. You can think of rehabilitation as strengthening the area around the injury.”

Kim’s life as a baseball player and coach has been a colorful one, but it hasn’t always been rosy. While attending Gyeongbuk Middle School, he was the shortest, slowest, and weakest player on the baseball team, which prevented him from attending Gyeongbuk High School, a prestigious baseball school for elite baseball players in the Daegu area. He had to go to Daeyang in Seoul, and he didn’t really stand out in high school, so he went to the new Youngnam University instead.
It was during his freshman year at YU that he met coach Bae Sung-seo, who changed his baseball life. During his freshman year, he trained with all his might. He lifted weights with the gymnasts and ran with the track and field team to build up his strength. The heavens virtually rewarded his efforts, and he grew 12 centimeters taller and stronger in a year.

“After a year of training like crazy, my shoulders got stronger, my feet got faster, and I got more power. After these three beats, my baseball life began to blossom anew.” “I would like to tell the junior players something like this,” he said. “Every player who is worthy of going to the pros has a talent that no one knows. If you don’t give up and work hard until the end, good days will come.”Before the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, he remained connected to baseball through talent donations, and he still looks at Korean baseball with fondness. Four of his former players are now professional managers: Yeom Kyung-yup (LG), Park Jin-man (Samsung), Sutton (Lotte), and Hong Won-ki (Kiwoom). He said, “I am a celestial baseball person. I want to contribute to Korean baseball through something related to baseball, and I’m always preparing for the opportunity that may come one day. The next time I wear a uniform, I want to wear the number ’77’,” he laughed.