Sim Jun-seok (19, Pittsburgh) boarded a plane to challenge the American stage. Shim Jun-seok departs for the United States via Incheon International Airport on the afternoon of the 24th.

Shim Jun-seok, who met with reporters before departure, said, “I left with a promise, but when I arrived at the airport, I was both excited and nervous.” I hope you look at it with a warm heart rather than just your gaze.”

Shim Jun-seok, who is about to graduate from Deoksu High School, concluded an agreement with Pittsburgh on the 16th as soon as the major league club’s international contract bonus pool was released. It is known that the total amount, including his signing money and support for the club, is around 1 million dollars. The following is a Q&A with Shim Jun-seok.

– How have you been since the announcement of the contract?
“I did the same weight training and flexibility training as before. I was preparing to work hard without getting hurt while increasing my strength little by little.”

– After the contract, you received more attention than before. How do you feel?
“There was a lot of contact, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t put any weight on my shoulders just because I received a lot of attention. did this.”

– There was a lot of interest in the down payment. There seems to be a reason for choosing Pittsburgh even though the amount was less than expected.
“Pittsburgh is also a good team. The club officials told me in detail about my growth plan, and I was moved by the feeling that they took good care of me while watching the introduction of the Pittsburgh club system.”

– What is the schedule after arriving in the US?
“I enter the club and have an initiation ceremony on the 26th. I am preparing to join the team training right away.”
“I don’t know what league I’m going to be in yet. I think if I show well in team training, I’ll start at a higher level.”

– Many minor league challengers express difficulties in adapting to the local environment. how did you prepare
“Apart from baseball, first of all, it is important not to get hurt, so I exercised hard. I think I will be better than when I was in Korea if I communicate in English and do that. I also studied English little by little in Korea. I thought a lot about how to do it.”

– In Pittsburgh, there are Bae Ji-hwan and Choi Man-man. what advice did you get
“I haven’t been able to contact you because I’m not familiar with you yet. If you have any questions, I wonder if you can let me know.

– Have you contacted other minor league seniors?
“I often keep in touch with Jo Won-bin (St. Louis Minor), who went first last year. Since the US and Korea have different exercise styles, I asked him about that and how he manages his mental state. He also asked me a lot of trivial things. They talked about what they were doing on the day.”

– The total amount of the down payment has not been disclosed. Is there a reason?
“I didn’t try to hide it on purpose, and the team did it for me, so I didn’t think about it in particular. I’m satisfied with my down payment, and when others see it, I can think of it as a small amount, but I don’t think that’s important. Money is just a matter of going and collecting it. “

– What are you looking forward to the most and what are you most worried about?
“What I’m looking forward to is that the weather is nice and the training system is good, so I want to go and exercise as soon as possible. Rather than worry, I think that communication may be difficult due to language problems. I think it will be helpful if I go quickly and study English hard. .” 스포츠토토

– When are you returning home?
“I don’t know when I will return. I want to return to Korea with good results.”

– It would be a lonely fight in America.
“I think the fact that there is no one around me means that it is an environment where I can concentrate on training. Without confidence, I would not have been able to take on this challenge. I took on the challenge because I had the confidence to go up and work hard.”

– There was talk that Park Chan-ho came to mind.
“It’s too much of an expression for me. I’m still far from reaching it. It just seems to mean that they look good on me and see the possibility high, so I have nothing but gratitude.”