The person who throws the fastest fastball in the KBO League this season is Woo-Seok Ko, the finalist of the LG Twins.
Woo-Seok Ko's fastball average is 153.8km/h based on his stats, which is faster than any other pitcher since 2014.
(▶'The highest arrest ever' LG Ko Woo-seok…"The goal is 100 miles")
However, due to the difference between him and Woo-seok Ko, there is another pitcher who is holding an all-time high-speed ball parade.
Jae-young Jang of Kiwoom Heroes, '900 million newcomers,' with an average fastball speed of 153.3km/h.
'Fireballer' Jang Jae-young, who has been famous since Deoksu High School, has been at the center of the topic even after he entered the KBO League as the 1st nomination for Kiwoom.
How fast was the ball tossing, how did the ball change properly? The media and fans' attention focused on the first pitch and the first pitch.
As a new 18-year-old high school graduate, there is no choice but to feel pressure.
However, Jang Jae-young proved his worth with his skills.
▲ Kiwoom Jae-young Jang's pitching practice and actual pitching video
He started in 3 games and throws 47 balls, pitching 2.2 innings, with an average ERA of 0.
It's an early stage, but it's surprising, considering that the first appearance was a tie for overtime, as well as the role of playing a major role in high-importance situations.
What kind of mindset is Jang Jae-young spending his first year in the KBO?
Will we continue to see this overwhelming pitching in the future?
I asked Jang Jae-young directly through a telephone interview.
Q. Now you have played 3 games after your debut.
How are you doing?
There is nothing particularly bad about it.
Apart from the results of the match, I'm focused on winning the team by just doing my best in one match with confidence.
It is a situation that must be prevented every time we start, so if we block this, the team will have a higher chance of winning, so it seems that the good result was that we worked harder.
Q. As a rookie, weren't you trembling when you started in a dangerous situation?
My first appearance was overtime, so I was nervous, but there weren't many pitchers at the time, and there were many situations where I didn't know what would happen to professional baseball, so I thought I experienced it beforehand, and I just threw it hard.
I was nervous, but I think it helped a little when I thought about doing my best to do what I could.
Q. Your fastball average redemption has been doing really well so far.
What is the secret?
I'm not concerned with the highest restraints, but more about the average restraint or the ability to maintain restraints.
I have only played 3 games yet, but it seems to have been well maintained so far.
I think it helped to prepare well this winter.
Q. What did you do to prepare for maintaining your arrest?
The good control comes from the balance, so I did a lot of balance exercise.
Also, I did a lot of instant speed training and agility exercises, so those parts helped me a lot.
Jaeyoung Jang's pitching repertoire is largely divided into fastball and curve.
However, the curve that steals the batter's timing is as powerful as the powerful fastball, which is the main weapon.
Actually, the pitch value per 100 pitches based on the stats of the curve thrown by Jang Jae-young is 4.44, which is slightly higher than the fastball with 4.42.
Q. Along with the fastball, the two types of curves are also a hot topic.
One of the two is the slub curve, which is the speed between the slider and the curve.
Coach Song Sung-young told me that throwing is comfortable, so I used it because it seemed to fit my hand after practicing.
I don't use sliders a lot, and I think curves are more advantageous than sliders for compatibility with fastballs, so I'm using curves in two ways.
Q. Coach Won-ki Hong mentioned the possibility of Jang Jae-young's future changeover. Do you have any plans to equip another ball to change the starting?
I practice when I catch a ball that falls outside of the left-handed batter, such as a change-up or splitter.
However, right now, rather than increasing the number of pitches, I wonder if the commands of the existing pitches should work well.
That way, I can be a starting pitcher, and if I have a chance, I definitely want to be a starting pitcher.
By the way, the manager said that he would use me as a starting pitcher in the long run, but that's later, and I think it's right to do my best in the role I'm playing in the current team.
The performance of Jae-young Jang, who throws the best high-speed ball in the KBO League, may have already been announced.
However, there was also one element of anxiety.
It is the control power.
Since high school, I have struggled with a somewhat unstable control, and even in practice and demonstration games, I thrown well, but the ball or walk that fits my body accumulates and collapses suddenly.
However, it has changed dramatically in the regular season.
In three games, there was only one walk from Jang Jae-young, and not a single ball that fits the body I was worried about.
Q. It seems that my control ability has improved significantly compared to the demonstration game.
I received a lot of advice from my brothers and seniors, and the coach told me that the ball goes straight when I have faith in my ball.
So, it seems that there are always good results by throwing with confidence.
Also, after entering the season, there are spectators in the stadium, so I can feel a little more nervous, so I think the control has improved a lot.
Q. Was there a decisive moment?
At the end of the demonstration game, I felt a lot of'What to do, I can compete with the batter'.
Since I always gave a lot of points by throwing only with force and gave a lot of walks, I felt that I shouldn't have just the speed of the ball, so I found another way.
So I think the balance is very good now.
Still, I have to keep practicing because I don't know what will happen in the future, and I think I have to concentrate more and work hard.
For a boy who has only graduated from high school for a few months, the sudden attention of the professional level will be a burden.
However, Jang Jae-young's mental attitude, which seems to have taken the appropriate tension as an opportunity to sharpen his skills, was already a'veteran-class professional'.
We support the growth of Kiwoom Jang Jae-young, who is emerging as a candidate for the newcomer king, disregarding public concerns.
(Video coverage: Hojun Choi, AD: Jeongbeom Kim)