Lee has a better understanding of the role and existence of veteran players than anyone else. He captained the team five times during his active career, and the Hyundai Unicorns and the Heroes were the team he captained. Players who played in the modern era still felt proud of being from the modern era, which symbolized strong and strong baseball, and he was recognized for his leadership by captaincy in the modern era. He captained the team as the oldest player in the most difficult period in the early days of the team’s foundation and led the players.
Immediately after taking the helm, Lee met with veteran players including Choi Jeong, Kim Kwang-hyun, and Han Yu-seom, and discussed many things in a relatively comfortable atmosphere. After the end of the season, a new coach was appointed during the closing camp, and Lee never had to meet with the players in person. As a result, he created an opportunity for veteran players to have candid conversations over the phone or at meals. At the end of the year and the beginning of the year, he often went to Landers Field and naturally had meetings with players who were training at the stadium. As a new coach preparing for the new season, he is trying to see players as often as possible and listen to more stories of players.
While having various conversations about the spring camp with his seniors, Lee said, “I guarantee the seniors their full autonomy. Choose whatever they want.” The SSG will start its first and second tier camps in Vero Beach, Florida, the U.S., and Zai in Taiwan from early February. Players who had been to Florida also come to Taiwan to engage in actual training sessions there.
SSG, which is the only team among the 10 teams to have camps in Florida, is very satisfied with Verovich’s facilities. The Jackie Robinson Training Complex, formerly the training site of the Los Angeles Dodgers, offers the best conditions for players to stay and train at the same time. The weather is nice, the players can use multiple stadiums at the same time, and the stadium is well equipped with indoor facilities.
The only drawback is the distance traveled. There is no direct flight from Korea. It takes a day just to travel because at least you can get there after a bus journey via transit 1-2 in the U.S. In particular, the jet lag is 14 hours long, so you have to spend the first three to four days adjusting to jet lag. That’s why many players complained of difficulties in jet lag and boarding an airplane for a long time. 파친코
However, the difficulty is that we cannot easily give up this quality facility. “At first, I tried to change the venue of the camp because the players were too tired, but now that I see it, I don’t think I need to change the venue,” said Jeong Yong-jin, the owner of SSG, after visiting the facilities last year.
So Lee decided to give veteran players a choice. Lee told the players, “You’ve already come all the way here because you know how to prepare yourself and how to train. I’ll give them a choice whether it’s starting in the Florida camp or the Taiwan second-tier camp.” At first, veteran players were also embarrassed. Rumor has it that some players asked, “Are you sure you can do that?”
Veteran players made the decision after much consideration. At first, more players were agonizing over Taiwan’s camp, but more players decided to go to Florida after agonizing over it. They thought that as the new coach starts his first season, training together would be better for the mood to rise. “It has become more complicated to list the players,” Lee said with a happy smile.