KT Moon Sang-cheol repays ’10 years of waiting
Moon Sang-cheol (32), an infielder for the KT Wiz in professional baseball, was called an ‘unfinished prospect’ until recently. At the time of his joining in 2014, he was evaluated as a talent to take on KT’s number 4 hitter in the future, but he could hardly break out of the egg. What was even more frustrating was the difference in performance between group 1 and group 2. He lightly hit double-digit home runs every year in the Futures League, but the bat was silent when he came up only to the first team. In the meantime, as outstanding hitters such as Kang Baek-ho, Hwang Jae-gyun, and Park Byung-ho appeared in KT’s infield, Sang-cheol Moon’s position was further narrowed.
Moon Sang-cheol, who has spent 10 years helplessly, is roaring as if he is gathering all his sadness and blowing them away. After his professional debut, his most outstanding performance was not enough, and he is leading KT’s leap by making a finishing touch, which he had never had until last year, three times this season alone.
In the home game against NC Dinos held at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 12th, Moon Sang-cheol came out as a pinch hitter with 2 outs 1st and 2nd base at the end of the 9th inning 3-3 and scored the final hit. NC finisher Lee Yong-chan hit a 130km/h forkball and called second base runner Bae Jeong-dae home. Moon Sang-cheol, who met the next day on the 13th, said, “There are certainly many important chances coming this season. 토토사이트 In the past, when it came to a decisive moment, he was very nervous, but now he is trying to calmly eat his heart. This allows me to relax at bat.”
Moon Sang-cheol’s ability as a solver is being demonstrated at every inflection point in the pennant race. The starting point was a home game against the Lotte Giants on May 12th. Moon Sang-cheol hit a left-handed solo home run against Kim Jin-wook in the 10th inning against 1-1. It was a finishing arch he tasted for the first time in his life and a valuable home run that broke KT’s 6th consecutive victory. Then, on the 26th of last month, against the LG Twins, he scored a final hit to end the game in the 12th overtime. It was a decisive blow to secure a winning series against LG, the sole leader.
Moon Sang-cheol was called by many nicknames even before joining the team. During his school days, he was nicknamed ‘the second Kim Dong-ju’ after the Geopo infielder senior who went through the same high school and university. In addition, after becoming a founding member of KT through the rookie draft held in August 2013, he was also called ‘KT’s Na Seong-beom’ after the successful case of NC Dinos. He meant to be like Na Seong-beom, who led NC’s settlement in the first team. However, this expectation soon became a burden. Moon Sang-cheol said, “When I was young, I liked such modifiers, but as I got older, it became a burden. Also, he kept getting poor grades in the first team, so there was a sense of impatience,” he recalled.
Moon Sang-cheol, who alternated between infielder and outfielder, started breaking eggs three years ago. He tried various batting forms and found his own, and finally got his current stable stance. Altoran’s performance in 82 games this season with a batting average of 0.272, 7 homers, 38 RBIs and 24 points was also completed through these tenacious efforts.
KT coach Kang-Cheol Lee, who recently sees Moon Sang-Cheol’s utility value, said, “In yesterday’s game, he went into the plate with a smile. I feel like I can afford it because I keep experiencing such important opportunities.”
Moon Sang-cheol said, “Although I am a founding member of KT, I always felt very sorry for not being able to do my part. I’m happy that I feel like I’m paying back even if it’s belatedly.” He continued, “I received a lot of opportunities after Director Lee Kang-cheol came. Until last year, I felt a lot of lacking points, but I think it’s fortunate that I was able to help even a little this year. I will do my best until I decide to advance to fall baseball.”