"I can be a main player even in my first year." Will it be possible to challenge the catcher's rookie award for the first time in 15 years
"I can be a main player even in my first year." Will it be possible to challenge the catcher's rookie award for the first time in 15 years
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SSG Landers 2025 rookie Lee Yul-ye (18, Gangneung High School) won the Lee Man-soo Catcher Award and was recognized as the best catcher in high school.바카라사이트
Lee Yul-ye received the catcher's award at the 8th Lee Man-soo Catcher Award and Home Run Award held at the KBO Baseball Center in Dogok-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul at 2 p.m. on the 19th. As the other one, Park Soo-ho (18, Daegu Sangwon), was selected as the Home Run Award, the two received prizes worth 1 million won and 5 million won, respectively.
"Honestly, there are so many good players this year that I didn't expect to receive this award. I am so happy to receive this meaningful award. I will continue to be a good player without being complacent," Lee said. "My high school uniform number is the same as Lee Man-soo's, and my coach in middle school told me that I was the 22nd catcher. I respect him the most as a catcher. I want to be a catcher like Lee Man-soo."
Lee Yul-ye was nominated by SSG Landers as the eighth overall in the first round at the 2025 KBO Rookie Draft held in September. He hit 0.370 (27 hits in 73 times at bat) in 24 games this year, as a junior, with two homers, 16 RBIs and two steals, and a 0.515 on-base percentage, with an on-base percentage of 0.507 OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 1.022.
What earned him more recognition than his good performance is his batting performance. Lee Yul-yea has been recognized for his stable defense capability, as Gangneung High School coach Lee Jaeho Choi (63) selected him as the starting catcher from his freshman year. His strength is his strong shoulders and accurate throwing of the pop time average of 1.8 seconds at second base. He has a wide range of views on games, and since his sophomore year, he has assigned Lee to him in charge of game management.
In recognition of its potential, he was not an official player on the Korean national baseball team under the age of 18 (U-18) in 2022, but he accompanied him as a bullpen catcher even though he was a freshman. In the 2023 U-18 national team, he played as the main catcher even though he was a second grader, and at the 2024 Asian Youth Baseball Championship, which recently ended, he led Korea to the bronze medal by serving as the captain and the main catcher.
SSG rookie Lee Yul-ye (right) won the catcher award at the 8th Lee Man-soo Catcher Award and Home Run Award ceremony held at the Baseball Center in Dogok-dong, Seoul on the 19th.
"If the pop time is 1.8 seconds at the most and 1.9 seconds on average, I can say that I am a professional throwing player. A catcher is a position that requires experience and is not the only one who can be said to be good at it. We need to know the strengths and weaknesses of our pitchers and know the strengths and weaknesses of batters in the other team," Lee Man-soo, chairman of the board, said. "Leadership is important, but Lee Yul-ye seems to be a professional player with 10 years of experience in leadership. He has the qualifications to become the representative catcher of the Republic of Korea if he is refined well."
Lee was one of the most well-received players at the wrap-up camp of the SSG in Kagoshima, Japan, which ended last month. "Lee Yul-ye's defense was definitely different. I look forward to next year," said Kim Jae-hyun, head of SSG who visited the camp in person.
However, he felt that he lacked a lot. "It was my first time working out overseas, and I had a chance to learn so much," said Lee after the award ceremony. "It was a different experience and I think my goal has become a little more clear." "Overall, I felt that I had a lot to complement. When it comes to defense, I felt that there were a lot of details to be completed, and when it came to hitting, I realized that I was lacking as I watched the coaches teach me. But after practicing it, I felt that it was worth trying, and I am doing my best."
This year, SSG has recruited Serizawa Yuji battery coach again after the end of the season to nurture catchers. Lee Yul-ye, who is receiving intensive guidance from Serizawa, is focusing on weight training this winter.
"Seja and Coach Lee said it would be nice to supplement their catching skills a little more," Lee said. "Other than that, they talk about many details," Lee said. "Currently, 183 centimeters tall, weighing 90 kilograms, and there is a saying that we need to build our physique. I agree with that idea, but one of the advantages of my physical strength is agility, so I plan to increase muscle mass and exercise quickness through weight training rather than build up my physique. I also think my physique will grow naturally as time passes by."
SSG rookie Lee Yul-ye (right) won the catcher award at the 8th Lee Man-soo Catcher Award and Home Run Award ceremony held at the Baseball Center in Dogok-dong, Seoul on the 19th.
Lee Yul-ye, who said he was more nervous and nervous about the practice game in the closing camp as a professional, aimed to join the top-tier spring camp next year. "As a professional ball is different from a high school level, I want to get many balls from good pitchers and try them again. For foreign players, I've only seen the ball, but I've never received it, so I'm looking forward to it," he said with a smile.
SSG, which unfortunately ended the season in sixth place through the first tiebreaker in the KBO this year, will begin to rebuild itself in earnest for the era of Cheongdam. As many rookies were given opportunities this year, Park Ji-hwan and Jung Joon-jae settled down in the first division stage, and that policy will continue next year. The words of SSG that he could become the starting player even in his first year came as a great excitement to Lee Yul-ye.
It was almost impossible for a rookie catcher to take the first position in the first year of his debut and take the lead. The catcher's position is weak, but there is a big difference between professionals and amateurs in defense.
However, Lee could be different. Many scouts have already evaluated him as a first-team player in the KBO. "Lee Yul-yea's defense is impeccable. He can even play in the KBO league right now," said scout A from other KBO teams other than SSG, who was nominated as a rookie this year. "If a team needs a catcher, he can also be nominated in the top round."
As many scouts expected, if Lee Yul-ye plays in many games in the first team as a catcher next year, he can also challenge for the first catcher's rookie award in 15 years since Yang Eui-ji (37, Doosan Bears) in 2010. There are many outstanding rookies, but just playing a full-time season from the first year of his debut is enough for a high school graduate rookie catcher.