Lim Chan-gyu (31, LG) obtained his first free agent (FA) qualification after finishing last season. However, he did not apply. He’s a starter, but that’s because he hasn’t played enough in the last two seasons. In this year’s spring camp, where LG replaced the command tower and started anew, it was named as a ‘5 selection candidate’. While Lee Min-ho and Kim Yoon-sik, who were juniors for a long time, were dropped for the 3rd and 4th starting positions, Lim Chan-gyu had to compete for the 5th starting position with far-away juniors.
He was virtually pushed out. The beginning of the new season should have hurt his pride, but Lim Chan-gyu is more motivated and positive than ever. This is because he has changed all of his positions and is making a completely new start after being called as a pitcher that is essential for the team.
Lim Chan-gyu was selected as a long relief player this season. A strong team always has a strong pitcher who throws long in the middle and does the dirty work. He doesn’t stand out between the starting pitcher and the winning pitcher, but he is a pitcher with a position that is absolutely necessary to win the championship. Lim Chan-gyu took on the role this year. He plans to occasionally step in as a substitute starter when the starting lineup is faltering. This is why LG coach Yeom Gyeong-yeop put Lim Chan-gyu in the ‘5 selection candidates’.메이저사이트
Lim Chan-gyu said, “I was uneasy at first because I didn’t do well last year, the young pitchers are good, and I wasn’t guaranteed a spot. However, he returned home after the spring camp and talked with the coach. He told me at that time why he wanted to use it that way, to prepare because he could go to the middle of the fight,” he said. “He said, ‘Your role is important.’ Rather than being pushed back to the middle, he seemed to have been given a heavy responsibility. If the juniors throw well as a starter, it is the best as a team, and I support them behind them. It seems like a good role. I want to show my best,” he said.
Lim Chan-gyu played almost as a midfielder until 2013, when he first joined the team. He started serving as a starter in 2016 after serving in the police baseball team for two years from 2014. Since then, he has always been considered the face of LG’s next-generation domestic selection, and even achieved double-digit multipliers in 2018 and 2020. But he couldn’t go further than that. Lim Chan-gyu said, “It seems that I have been holding onto (selection) all this time. Now, I wonder if this is the right outfit for me,” he said.
Lim Chan-gyu appeared in the middle of all three demonstration games until the 21st. He threw 2, 2, and 4 innings each, giving up only 1 run in total, and pitched reliably. Director Yeom Kyung-yeop said, “I completely changed the pitching design. In the exhibition game alone, the pitch value of the changeup is at a level that does not fall out of the league. He is changing into a better pitcher.”
Along with his confidence, he is getting a positive vibe. Lim Chan-gyu, who played the spring camp really hard, said, “I always focused on improving my pitch. Then he eventually got more balls and his breaking ball got weaker. This time, the director ordered it. He wouldn’t even care about falling velocity, so he told me to focus on just one ball that could catch the hitter. He studied hard on the changeup,” he said. “It was not the result of the pitch, but the value of the pitch. While watching the demonstration game, he said, “Be proud of your changeup, as your changeup is one of the best in the league.” The mindset has changed,” he said.
The position and the pattern of the helmet were also completely changed. It is not a struggle at the edge of a cliff where he was pushed out of the selection and failed to become a free agent, but it is a customized transformation made in a very necessary position as LG starts anew. Intermediate pitcher Lim Chan-kyu’s strength can be the most ‘key point’ of LG’s mound this season.
Lim Chan-gyu said, “I changed it because I always wanted to live, and I thought it wouldn’t work like this, but this year, I received an order and changed it because of the sense of responsibility. I thought that this could be a really important place. If you look at strong teams in the past, there were pitchers like (Cha) Woochan of Samsung and SK’s little Lee Seung-ho and Jeon Byung-doo. I thought that I should become the strongest long relief,” he said. “I am grateful to the director for explaining it so that I can understand it without changing it. I think I understood the words properly and prepared well. It’s going smoothly. It feels good to think that I am playing an important role.”
Lim Chan-kyu, who was sluggish last year, still stepped on the playoff stage. In fact, it was an opportunity created by his juniors. To the juniors who said “thank you”, I want to become an older brother who can feel less sorry now. We welcome the opening with a healthier and more energetic appearance than ever before.
Lim Chan-gyu said, “As he started camp this year, he thought he wanted to draw a completely new picture from February on white drawing paper. He made up his mind that he would prepare so that the new director would come and come out as it is with a new color,” he said. “I will try to fill that drawing paper well by November. Seriously, I want to contribute to winning. Now he thinks that he should become a senior who leads by doing well together rather than being sorry. I really want to pitch a lot this year,” he said.