"Last year was such a disappointment. Now that I am not young, I have to become a player who can contribute more to the team."온라인바카라

In his eighth year as a professional player, Lotte Giants catcher Cho In-geun has become No. 2 in his team. Except for Yoo Kang-nam, who is seven years older than him, other catchers are younger than those born in 1999.

Information-geun himself is not familiar with the current situation, which has more juniors than seniors, saying, "It seems like yesterday that I was the youngest, but somehow time passed so fast."  

However, Shin holds the key to Lotte's catcher's management plan for the 2025 season. Lotte's main catcher Yoo Kang-nam underwent knee surgery last year and is slowly boosting his pace by controlling the amount of training early in the spring camp.

Yoo Kang-nam is currently completely fine with hitting, but he is controlling the speed of his defense. The possibility that it will be difficult to wear a mask for all nine innings in time for the opening game on March 22 cannot be ruled out. 

On top of that, Lotte's catcher prospect Son Sung-bin also underwent surgery on his right wrist last year. As rehabilitation progresses slower than expected, the timing of his return to the first division is expected after June.  

For Lotte, the role of Information-geun, who has the most experience in the first division, in the early part of the 2025 season has become important. Not only Information-geun but also the entire Lotte catcher's team is undergoing intensive training under the guidance of battery coach Jeong Sang-ho at Lotte's first division spring camp that began in Tainan, Taiwan from April 25. 

Since his rookie year, Cho has been praised for his stable defense capability. His batting average, which had been pointed out as a weakness, also improved significantly in the 2023 season with a batting average of 0.333 (27 hits in 81 at-bats) and an OPS of 0.902 with one homer, 13 RBIs. He has earned the nickname "Buster Pogun" by fans compared to Buster Posey, the legendary catcher of the Major League Baseball. 

However, the bat slowed down with a batting average of 0.226 (30 hits in 133 times at bat) and two home runs, seven RBIs and an OPS of 0.529 in 89 games in the 2024 season. During the closing training period in November 2023, the aftermath of not being able to participate in the spring camp overlapped as he was hit by a foul ball during his own defense against the Blue and White.

"Last year's performance was very disappointing for me. I thought this year was really important, and I prepared a lot during the offseason," Cho said. "I am not young anymore. I need to do better as I have accumulated experience, so I took a lot of training throughout the winter."

It is the first time in five years that Cho has participated in overseas spring camps since his training camp in Australia in 2020. He has been working tirelessly throughout the winter in order not to repeat his poor performance last year. 

Information-geun lost weight first. He moved to Taiwan with a weight loss of nearly seven kilograms. He flogged himself by thoroughly managing his diet and increasing his exercise hours.

Since the start of Taiwan's spring camp on April 25, one day has been extended. Most of the catchers are assigned to the "early group" that departs from their accommodation an hour earlier than other players, and start sweating at the ballpark from 8:30 a.m. The team will have constant schedules ranging from hitting, defense, bullpen pitching, weight training and night overtime.

"Last year, I was not satisfied with both batting and defense," Cho said. "I don't think it's difficult because I have to improve my skills a lot during the spring camp," Cho said. "If I get an opportunity to start, I want to become a player who can take responsibility for a single game. I will also do my best until the opening of the season so that I can display performance that does not fluctuate whenever I play."