MVP ace dreaming of a professional
Gunsan Sangil High School defeated Incheon High School 11-10 at the ’57th Presidential Cup National High School Baseball Championship’ held at Mokdong Stadium in Seoul on the 15th and won the championship. Jeong Min-seong did not appear in the finals, but won MVP and Outstanding Pitcher awards.
Jung Min-seong, who appeared in 3 games (12⅔ innings) in this tournament and played an active role with 3 wins and an average ERA of 2.92, took the mound twice in one game in the semifinal against Gyeonggi High School on the 12th, giving up 2 runs with 3 hits, 3 walks, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts, and 4 1/3 innings. He recorded victory and led Gunsan Sangil High School to advance to the finals. His performance this year is 7 wins and 1 loss in 14 games (52⅓ innings) with an earned run average of 2.42.
In an interview after winning the MVP award, Jeong Min-seong said, “Actually, he thought he would get the best pitcher award, but he didn’t even think about MVP. It’s an opportunity that comes only once in a lifetime. It was really good. I wanted to throw a lot today, but I believed in my friends and cheered hard on the bench. My friends worked hard and even won the championship, so I almost cried.”
Regarding the semi-finals, which played a decisive role in Gunsan Sangil High School’s victory, Jung Min-seong said, “It wasn’t over at that time, so I threw it with the thought of stopping it here. He looked back on his performance in the semifinals, saying, “It was difficult after he pitched twice, but I didn’t know when he threw.”
Jung Min-seong, who throws a fast ball with a maximum speed of 150 km/h, is likely to be nominated for the top round of the 2024 rookie draft to be held in September. “First of all, my goal is to be nominated in a high round in the draft,” said Jung Min-seong. There is no team in particular that I want to go to. 안전놀이터 I want to go anywhere if you just call me.”
Nevertheless, when asked if there is a team they prefer, “SSG, Hanwha, and Kiwoom seem to be good. SSG’s uniform is pretty, Hanwha’s hat is New E, and Kiwoom’s home stadium is Gocheok Dome.” Jung Min-seong, who picked “heavy fastball” as his strength, said, “The arm height is low, so there is a movement that makes the ball come alive. Here, he seems to have a lot of miss swings by hitters.”
Jung Min-seong chose Trevor Bauer (Yokohama), who is playing in Nippon Professional Baseball, and Devin Williams (Milwaukee), a top reliever pitcher in the major leagues, as his role models. “Bauer likes to pitch pitches full of fighting spirit so he doesn’t get bored on the mound. He explained why he chose the two players as role models, saying, “I refer to Williams a lot for his pitching form and baseball style. Jung Min-seong, who grew up as a national ace by experiencing his first high school national championship victory, is paying attention to what kind of player he will develop in the future.