“So that baseball can be said to be Yeo Dong-gun…”.”
Yeo Dong-gun (19, Doosan Bears) was nominated by the Doosan Bears in the second round of the 2024 rookie draft (12th overall).
After graduating from Seoul High School, he was expected to be a “five-tool player” due to his talent, although not physically large at 1 meter 75 meters. He was evaluated as a resource that would revitalize Doosan’s infield team.
Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop said, “I will take on the role of a pinch runner, paying attention to Yeo’s fast feet.”
Immediately, the opportunity came. On the 1st, he took the first base as a pinch runner after Yang Eui-ji got on base in the bottom of the 11th inning of extra time against Lotte in Jamsil. He also did his job by stealing after two outs. Although he was out by the outfielder’s accurate throw while coming home when he had a hit, he certainly proved his use in the first team. Since then, he has consistently played as a substitute, and he scored his first run against LG on the 21st and made his first hit against LG Ham Deok-ju on the 22nd.
“When I was in the 2nd tier, I focused on areas that needed to be improved. When I played in the game, I tried to produce results in my own way, and I made preparations by making plays that were necessary for the team. I also did a lot of image training with the mindset that I can go to the 1st tier even though I don’t know when I will be there,” Yeo said.
He experienced both hope and frustration in the Futures League. He had a monthly batting average of only around 10 percent in June and July, but his monthly batting average completely rebounded to 338 in August.
Yeo Dong-gun said, “The coaches talked a lot with confidence. In fact, I wasn’t confident because I came to the professional program, but listening to the coaches’ stories, I thought, “Let’s do it first” and doing it with a fighting power led to good results.” 안전놀이터
Kim Taek-yeon, the first-ranked designator who joined together, and Jeon Joon-pyo (Kium), a classmate at Seoul High School, could have been stimulated by showing good performances in the first team, but Yeo Dong-gun waited for “his time.” Yeo Dong-gun said, “There must be some good things about going up to the first team first, but I thought it was a good opportunity for me to prepare step by step in the second team. I really wanted to go to the first team, but I wanted to prepare to be able to take the basics and go up in a hurry without being ready.”
He continued, “I felt myself getting better steadily without getting sick. I think it’s good to exercise a lot and get used to it while being greedy.”
The opportunity for the first team finally came. Yeo also showed how he considers the team rather than himself. “My growth is important, but my goal is to be of help to the team no matter what while I am in the first team. Whether it’s a big player or a runner, I think I am experiencing good things with them. For now, I want to do my best while I am in the first team,” he stressed.
Having said that he mainly played shortstop in the second division, he dreamed of becoming the post Kim Jae-ho. At the same time, he expressed his desire to inherit the best shortstop lineage in the league. “I thought a lot about wanting to inherit Kim Jae-ho’s lineage. Just as the saying goes, ‘Baseball is Lee Jong-beom,’ I will work hard to grow to be called ‘Baseball is Yeo Dong-gun.'”