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"My goal is 160 innings."

"When I see pitchers who are said to throw well in the KBO league, they throw more than 160 innings. I want to join that ranks."

Kwak Bin (25) was a major pitcher for the Doosan Bears last year. With 12 wins and 7 losses and an earned run average of 2.90, Kwak left the most wins and the lowest earned run average since his debut. It was a year when Kwak's potential when he joined the team after receiving the first nomination in 2018 was fully realized.

In 2024, there are no more question marks about Kwak's performance. What is left is health issues. Kwak pitched in only 23 games last year. Kwak was canceled due to back pain during the LG Twins on May 7 and returned on May 31 but had to rest again due to pain.

Kwak Bin said in an interview before leaving for the Australian spring camp on the 29th, "I did a lot of back strengthening training during the offseason as my back was not good last year. When I checked, my back condition was much better than before."

As he has become healthier, he aims to enter more than the regular innings this year. "When I see pitchers who are said to throw well in the KBO League, they play more than 160 innings. I wanted to join that ranks, so I set my goal of 160 innings," Kwak said. Raul Alcantara (192 innings) topped the innings list in the regular season last year, and a total of 11 players exceeded 160 innings in the league. Literally, only the ace players representing each team were listed.

He also focused on improving the quality of his pitches. This winter, Kwak made efforts to strengthen his lower body, which led to strengthening of his ball control and ball power. After visiting the World Baseball Classic last year, Kwak said, "Japanese pitchers seem to throw very softly, but their speeds reach 155 kilometers per hour," adding, "I felt this a lot while talking to my teammates on the national team. Ko Young-pyo (KT Wiz) boasts the best ball control in Korea, and he cares a lot about his lower body. That's when I realized a lot. Since then, I have done a lot of lower body weight training."

When asked about off-season lower body training, he said, "I was so satisfied. I decided to work out with Choi Won-joon (Doosan) on a one-on-one basis at the spring camp. Won-joon recently went to Japan for an individual training session and participated in the exercise that he had learned."

Kwak plans to share his know-how on how to use the ball game with senior players and study it together. Kwak has thrown a fastball up to 155 km/h, a main weapon curve, and a changeup and slider evenly. "Wonjun said Japanese pitchers share the purpose with balls that catch ball count and balls that catch swings and misses," Kwak said. "I want to establish this by talking with Yang Eui-ji (the catcher). I think I can throw many different pitches (without adding additional pitches)."

Before leaving Korea, Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop said that two foreign pitchers and Kwak Bin have decided on starting rotation. He already pitched in the wild card game last year, and Kwak showed faith in them to the extent that he was mentioned as an ace in Korea. Kwak feels responsibility as well. "I will do my best to meet the expectations of the coach," he said. "When things go well, people should not become lazy. With the thought that there is no guaranteed position, I will keep my initial commitment and start the spring camp as I always have done."

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