'That Time' will come."
from web site
Kim Kang-min (42) is sweating at the Hanwha Eagles' Melbourne camp in Australia.
It is a season that I am not familiar with. I have started the season with the same team and teammates every year, but everything has changed this year. "I haven't tried on a uniform yet, but I think it will be awkward to wear it," Kim said. "Since everything is a new season, I am getting used to it. I think it is time to get used to it." "As the environment has changed for the first time, I am like, "(This is how I feel when I change teams)." There is nothing difficult. Rather, I have a broader perspective."
Kim Kang-min, who debuted in 2001, is the best fielder in the KBO League along with Choo Shin-soo (42) of the SSG Landers. The weight of Hanwha, which has many young players, is indescribable. "I met (Kim) Kang-min again after 10 years," said outfielder Lee Myung-ki (37), who served with Kim as a member of the SK Wyverns. I couldn't talk to him properly back then, but now I often joke around. I feel like I have become younger. Kang-min only asked me to run errands because I was the only one he knew (laughs). "We live on the same floor, so we wait in front of the door even when we go out to eat," he said, drawing laughter. "Myeong-gi is working hard. If it weren't for Myung-gi, I probably wouldn't have left the room (during the camp)," he said. "All the players do a good job so that I don't feel a sense of distance. Si-hwan Roh or Eun-seong asks me a lot of things and takes care of them."
The title of a veteran is like a medal for a professional. It is a sign that a veteran has survived on the professional stage for a long time thanks to thorough self-management and outstanding skills. However, it is also a weight that a veteran should bear. "As I get older, I naturally have more thoughts, but everything becomes more cautious. There are more people watching me, and I am sure that someone does the same thing inside the team," Kim said. "The biggest concern for several years is the injury. When I play a match, I don't think about injuries, but during training, I touch my body whenever I move."
Even though Kim Kang-min is older than twilight, his team has high expectations. He has thorough self-management proven by his long professional career, concentration that has shown his best skills under any circumstances, and leadership that encompasses teams. He hopes that the "winning mentality" that Kim has built will be transplanted to Hanwha, which has been at the bottom.
Kim Kang-min is also curious about the season. "As I play the season, there is only one stable time. I look forward to when it will come," said Kim Kang-min, who said, "At my age, before I go on the field, I have a feeling that 'I will win today' and 'We have an advantage in the rotation.' If I think I will win four out of six games in a week, I feel good for no reason even if I don't express it around me," he said. "At times like that, the team is always ready, and I sometimes think, 'How long can we win?' The situation was really good for the whole team, but I hope this year when the team changed."
In the past 23 years, when there was no easy moment in a single season, he has emerged as a vanguard of vultures, making a fresh start to his professional career. Kim Kang-min desperately hopes to enjoy the "moment" in Hanwha this season.
