Lee Ji Won interviewing for GT. Photographed by Kim Seung Hyun.

By Jeon Sohyeon (jeon1995@korea.ac.kr)

This year’s Annual Ko-Yon Games was marked by a series of comebacks, which made it much more entertaining to watch. It was baseball that first showed a miraculous comeback after conceding the first three points to Yonsei University (YU). Meet Lee Ji Won, the winning pitcher of the game, who played a major role in keeping the Korea University (KU) team in the game until the end.

GT: Now that you have won against YU, how do you feel?
Lee: I was so happy until Saturday and Sunday that we won against YU. But now that some time has lapsed, I feel pretty much calm.

GT: The KU baseball team has achieved its third straight victory against YU. How do you think this was possible?
Lee: We, the KU team, have this unidentifiable power that unleashes whenever there is an important competition or match. Like last time, when we had a match with Waseda University, I felt that our team played better than usual. So I think we are better performers than YU in important games.

GT: So do you consider the Ko-Yon Games an important competition?
Lee: Yes, it is the most important game of the year.

GT: Why and when did you start playing baseball?
Lee: My father offered me to play baseball when I was a third grader in elementary school. That was the time when I was losing interest in studying.

GT: But why a pitcher?
Lee: I played both as a pitcher and a batter until I graduated middle school. My pitch was one of the fastest, so I trained pitching but whenever there was a game, I would play as a batter. But once you go to high school, pitchers and batters are clearly distinguished and my pitch was the fastest, not only among the freshmen, but also among every player in the team. That’s when I started playing as a pitcher.

GT: What would you be doing now if you never played baseball? You said you were not interested in studying.
Lee: Honestly, what I am regretting at the moment is that…. I used to swim before I started playing baseball. So if I knew I was to become an athlete, I feel that I would have done equally well as a swimmer. Even as a swimmer I used to perform well in small competitions and I was the fastest among my peers. So I could’ve done better as swimmer than as a baseball player.

GT: How did you feel when you became the winning pitcher of the game?
Lee: I was just so relieved that we won and nothing else really came to my mind. I was pretty much overwhelmed by all the happiness.

GT: How was KU able to make a comeback? Is it because of that unidentifiable power you mentioned earlier?
Lee: I feel that if we played against YU in the middle of the season, we might not have been able to make such comeback. But this game was important and we had a strong mindset that we should not lose. This brought all of us, the KU team, together. And I can guarantee that our teamwork was much better than that of YU.

GT: When you first came on the pitch, not only were you losing by three points, but the bases were loaded with only one YU batter out. How did you feel in such situation?
Lee: I was very nervous throughout the entire game. But when I came on the pitch at such dire situation, I felt more responsible than I was nervous. I felt that if I conceded one more point, we would lose and I had to defend the inning no matter what.

GT: Then how did you feel when the inning came to an end scoreless?
Lee: It was a great relief. I was also lucky that we got two batters out simultaneously. Personally I am not the type of player who celebrates on the pitch. My role model is Oh Seung Hwan and I really admire his nonchalance on the pitch. So since I started playing baseball in high school, I didn’t want to let people see me sweat or celebrate. But when the inning did come to an end scoreless, I celebrated, and now that I think about it, I just can’t believe how happy I was then.

GT: You looked a little bit shaky in the top of the 9th inning. How did you overcome such adversity?
Lee: The moment I struck out the first batter, I felt that it was our game to win, so I think I was a little bit off-guard. Then I made the next batter walk and I was like, “Ok, I can strike the next batter out,” but then the opposite happened. To make things worse, all of my eight pitches were deemed off-plate. This is when I started getting nervous again and my arm started to ache at that point. So I felt that I had to put off time a little bit and so I waved towards to the bench for a time-out. But since I called for a time out already, I had to go off the pitch the second time I called for a time-out. I signaled to the referee that my arm was aching a little bit so he allowed a little bit of delay, but that didn’t help much. So the third-baseman, Cheon Jae Hwan, bought some more time by deliberately tying his shoelaces. I think these were all parts of the team-plays and that’s how I managed to overcome difficulties.

GT: I heard that you have this ability to overcome dangerous situations. How are you able to do this every-time?
Lee: As I said before, my role model is Oh Seung Hwan and unlike all baseball players who wish to become starter pitchers, I have always dreamt of becoming a closer. So whenever I am on the pitch, I feel that it is my job to defend the lead and save the team. I would also imagine myself defending the lead or saving the team and receiving applause from the crowd. And I think something similar happened because I was introduced at a dangerous situation.

GT: What did this Ko-Yon Games mean for you and how would it affect your future career?
Lee: This was my first time playing in the Ko-Yon Games and playing in front of such an enormous crowd. Also, I was introduced in a significant situation and managed to become the winning pitcher. So when I eventually start playing for a professional team, I feel that I would be less nervous and become hungry for more applause from the crowd.

GT: Now that other KU students will pitch for the team, is there a message you would like to send to these people?
Lee: If you’re good enough to play for KU or YU, it means that you have immense potential. And even though pitchers will be the most nervous positions of all, you will be less nervous the more you practice and have confidence in what you do. So I would like to tell the next pitchers to boost their confidence by practicing more and having a sense of responsibility since the entire team will ride on you. I personally feel that an entertaining baseball game is a game among the pitchers, not the batters. So I wish that the next Ko-Yon Games will be a game for the pitchers than it is for the batters.

출처 : 고려대학교 고파스 2024-05-04 01:58:05: