One of the secret weapons the Kiwoom Heroes are most looking forward to in the 2025 season is Lee Kang-joon (23). He joined the team after being discharged from the military on Nov. 7, and has been systematically preparing for the 2025 season. Lee Kang-joon graduated from Seorak High School and joined KT Wiz as the 22nd pick in the second round of 2020.메이저놀이터

On July 31, 2021, he moved from KT to Lotte Giants in a trade with Kim Joon-tae and Oh Yoon-seok. Afterwards, when Lotte acquired Han Hyun-hee from the 2022-2023 FA market, he moved on to the Kiwoom Heroes as a reward player. Lee Kang-joon, who had already planned to join the military, joined Sangmu, and will greet Kiwoom fans for the first time in 2025 after being discharged from the military.

In short, he spent a year and a half at KT, a year and a half at Lotte, and a year and a half at Sangmu. He had one win and one hold with an ERA of 9.51, out of 32 games played in the first division, but the ball was fast. However, his ball was on standby, which did not work in the first division due to poor ball control and command.

In 44 appearances for Sangmu in this season, Lee displayed 3 wins, 1 loss, 11 saves, eight holds, and an ERA of 0.76 in his career. He elevated his arm slightly to make himself feel comfortable. As he started throwing in the third quarter, he became more comfortable and gave the ball more weight. He found McConnick, who fits him. In a practice game against the KIA Tigers in mid-October, he shot 160 kilometers on the Gwangju KIA Champions Field electronic display, drawing keen attention. Based on the track man, he reached 158 kilometers.

Lee Kang-joon's recovery is basically the result of his faithfully exercising at Sangmu. It is highly likely that he will also fit well with Kiwoom, which actively invests in the possibilities of young players. However, the three years spent at KT and Lotte were not in vain. Looking back, Lee Kang-joon belatedly reflected on what his seniors told him at the time and changed his mind.

Lee Kang-joon, who recently met at Goyang Baseball Stadium, said, "I lacked understanding when I was with Lotte and KT. There was no big difference in working hard and being serious. But I started when I was a second grader as a pitcher. I started late, so I lost my understanding of pitchers."

At KT and Lotte, Ko Young-pyo, Bae Je-sung, Kim Won-joong, and Koo Seung-min said blood-like and flesh-like words, but they didn't hear Lee Kang-jun. He said, "I asked Young-pyo and Je-sung a lot at KT and they said a lot. At that time, I didn't understand. Seung-min and Won-joong also told me well at Lotte."

However, Lee Kang-joon said, "By the way, I remember those words. After spending a lot of time personally at Sangmu and spending a lot of time to think for myself, I thought, 'Oh, this is what the older brothers said. I started to understand that little by little."

For example, Lee said, "Understanding one makes steps 2 to 3 easier. It was a short time, but I have grown significantly. I also heard a lot about McConnick and remembered that he told me what to think and what to pitch on the mound. It's not just "throw your form like this." I asked my brothers everything from what they had to think when they came out to the ballpark to what they needed to focus on when they were playing catch, and I understood."

He expressed his gratitude to his seniors who were pitchers of KT and Lotte. Lee said, "I like to ask everything from team to team. Whenever team members did that, they didn't bother me and told me well. I was able to grow up like this after listening to them well."

Kiwoom also has many good seniors. Won Jong-hyun, who went through a rough patch in the bullpen, will make his comeback in earnest. Jung Chan-heon, who usually takes good care of his juniors, has turned into a coach after retirement. "So I'm looking forward to the camp. I have a lot of questions for Kiwoom seniors. I have to skip things that I can skip with my own. There will be many things to learn from new seniors," he said.

Lee Kang-joon's transformation, which was well asked and well understood, can be confirmed in earnest next year.