Jeong Cheol-won's 2025 season that started with "Roaring"..."You must throw well in front of Lotte fans"
Jeong Cheol-won's 2025 season that started with "Roaring"..."You must throw well in front of Lotte fans"
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Pitcher Jung Chul-won (26), who left the Doosan Bears for a new season at the Lotte Giants, expressed his ambition to recreate the glory of the 2022 season when he received the Rookie of the Year award.먹튀검증
"We got off to a good start. He is overwhelming batters with strong ball power in the regular season following exhibition games. Jeong Cheol-won, who was loved by fans during his time at Doosan Bears, is committed to capturing the hearts of Lotte fans.
Jung Chul-won took the mound in the top of the eighth inning with his team leading 2-1 against Incheon SSG Landers on the 25th. Starter Tucker Davidson took over the baton with one run in seven innings.
It was the first regular season game where he took the mound wearing Lotte's uniform, not Doosan's uniform that he wore for six years. The new uniform still felt unfamiliar, but the pitching was perfect.
He grounded out Ha Jae-hoon, the first batter, with two pitches to right in front of the third baseman, and struck out three pitches in Jihoon Choi of leadoff. Jung Joon-jae also struck out after four pitches. The maximum speed of fastball was 150 kilometers, which was heavy.
Jeong Cheol-won, who neatly caught the three batters, roared and enjoyed the joy as he walked down the mound with a big move that would be seen in the postseason.
"I wasn't conscious of the ceremony, but I think I made such a move because I focused and enjoyed the game when I was facing off against a batter. My role in both Doosan and now is to help my team win," Chung said with a smile.
Jung Chul-won, who was selected by Doosan in the 2018 rookie draft, did not receive an opportunity in the early days of his joining, but only made his first-team debut in the 2022 season after completing his military service.
His performance was impressive. At the time, he won the Rookie of the Year award with four wins, three losses, three saves and an earned run average of 3.10 from 72 ⅔ innings in 58 games. Afterwards, he joined the 2023 World Baseball Classic under the national flag.
In the 2023 season, he also played his part by posting seven wins, six losses and 11 holds, 13 saves, and an earned run average of 3.96. However, in 2024, he dropped to 2 wins, 1 loss, 6 saves, and an earned run average of 6.40 in 36 games, and was unexpectedly traded to Lotte.
It was bound for Busan without any connection, but it was not unfamiliar. Manager Kim Tae-hyung, who was with Doosan until 2022, is the head coach of Lotte, so he adapted smoothly. He was also reunited with coaches Ko Young-min and Kim Sang-min, who played for Doosan. Park Se-woong and Kim Won-joong, who played for the national team, were also present.
"Last season, I felt that I lacked fastball pitching while relying on breaking balls. So this time, I've been paying a lot of attention to my speed and pitching since the camp, and good results have continued since the exhibition games," Jeong said. "I still feel that I'm lacking, but I'm confident that I'm going to throw the ball that I want to throw."
"I'm new to Lotte, but I feel something is continuing, so I can get used to it easily," he said. "My role is to become a bridge that stretches to (Kim) Won-joong. Even if I am losing, I need to reduce my defense time as much as possible. On days when I don't take the mound, I will cheer for him in the dugout."
Lotte had to hand over Kim Min-seok, the first-round pick of the 2023 rookie draft, to Doosan in order to get Jung Cheol-won. Many Lotte fans still regret sending Kim Min-seok. Jung Cheol-won must play an active role to erase Kim Min-seok's shadow.
"I don't care about (Kim) Min-seok's performance yet. If I take the mound against Doosan, it will feel different, but I don't know yet," Jung said calmly.
Jung displayed good performance at Sajik Stadium, Lotte's home ground, when he was playing at Doosan. He pitched seven games and eight scoreless innings in his career. At Ulsan, Lotte's second home ground, he pitched two scoreless ⅓.
"I'm only going away since the opening, and I want to throw it in front of the home crowd. I also have high expectations," Jung said. "I will win as many games as possible to advance to autumn baseball."