Can Lotte Giants rookie Jeon Mir (18), who doubles as a pitcher, play both pitcher and hitter in the pros?
Lotte selected Gyeongbuk High School ace Jeon Mir as the 3rd pick in the first round at the ‘2024 KBO Rookie Draft’ held at the Grand Ballroom of the Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul on the 14th. Jeon Mir, who stood out in both two-bats, played 18 games (67⅔ innings) as a pitcher this year, with 5 wins and 1 loss, an ERA of 1.32, and a batting average of .346 온라인바카라(28 hits in 81 at-bats) in 27 games as a hitter, with 3 home runs, 32 RBIs, 22 runs and 2. He recorded a stolen base OPS of 1.032 and performed well in both pitches.
Lotte general manager Seong Min-gyu said, “As everyone knows, Jeon Mir has excellent athletic ability to hit both shots, so we selected him as the first pick without hesitation. And he gave high marks to the competitive spirit he showed on the field,” he said, explaining the reason for nominating Jeon Mir.
Lotte left open the possibility that Jeon Mir could continue his career as a pitcher in the pro league. Jeon Mir also said, “If the club gives me a position, I have no choice but to do so,” but added, “If given the opportunity, I would like to try both pitcher and batsman. “If he can, he has a great desire to double-hit as a pitcher,” he said, showing his willingness to double-hit as a pitcher.
Acting coach Lee Jong-woon said in an interview on the 15th, “Jeon Mir, who we selected first, appears to be a great two-hitting player. “I saw him in a few games, and he had a good breaking ball angle, so he seemed like a good player to be put into practice right away,” he said, welcoming Jeon Mir’s nomination.
So far, there have been many players in the KBO League who have shown talent in both hitting. There were many prospects, including Na Seong-beom (KIA), Kang Baek-ho (KT), Kim Dae-han (Doosan), Jang Jae-young, and Kim Geon-hee (Kiwoom Lee), but most of them focused on one position in the pros. Kiwoom gave Jang Jae-young and Kim Geon-hee the opportunity to double hit this year, but the results were not very good. In the end, it was decided that Jang Jae-young would focus on pitcher and Kim Geon-hee would focus on hitter.
Acting coach Lee Jong-woon said, “We don’t know what will happen to Jeon Mir at the moment,” and added, “Once he joins the team, we have to see what position he will fit into. “Whether he plays a pitcher or a fielder, the team situation has to match,” he said, avoiding any specific mention of Jeon Mir’s future.
Acting coach Lee Jong-woon said, “Of course, if you are good at both hitting, you will have a lot of use,” and added, “There will be a lot of pressure on the players. I wonder if I will be able to play properly because it is difficult. Even if you want to do it, there is a qualitative difference between pitching as an amateur and as a professional. “In the end, you might think it would be better to do just one,” he said, explaining the difficulties of working as a double hitter.
After the great success of Shohei Ohtani (Angels), a craze for both batting and pitching spread around the world, but after Ohtani, there has not been a single player who can also properly bat. Even Ohtani has recently suffered an elbow injury and a side injury, and is currently unable to play as a pitcher or batter.
Acting manager Lee Jong-woon said, “It is truly special to be able to double hit and hit like Ohtani. Ohtani is truly a great player. Not everyone can do it. “Being good at batting and pitching is literally like being the main character in a cartoon, it’s not an easy task,” he emphasized.
It is certainly difficult to work as a pitcher, but no one can know how Jeon Mir will grow. Acting coach Lee Jong-woon said, “I also watched the game video, but it is difficult to judge a player based on that alone. “I think our coaches and experts will know which choice would be better if he comes to our team and practices,” he said, looking forward to Jeon Mir’s growth.