Guillermo Heredia, a new foreign hitter for SSG Landers, expressed his determination for the new season in Korea.
SSG parted ways with Juan Lagares, who played last year, and recruited Heredia as a new outside hitter. A native of Cuba, he played for the Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates, and New York Mets before serving as a World Series winning member for the Atlanta Braves in 2021.
Heredia has not yet joined the team for less than a month, but she seems to have adapted quite a bit. Heredia, whom I met at the Jackie Robinson Complex in Vero Beach, Florida, USA, where the spring camp is being held, rides the rhythm to the music during training and invites his colleagues to dance. The following is a Q&A with Heredia.
– How do you feel about joining SSG and training?
I trained with a little change from my previous training style. I heard that the Korean style is different, so I have been training a lot focusing on flexibility and agility. His body has already been built and he is training well while matching the sum with his teammates.
– Did you adapt well?
It seems to be going very well. I am happy that my스포츠토토 teammates treat me well like family, just like the players I was originally with.
-I heard that he played a lot of mood makers in the big leagues. Let me introduce you to my style when playing baseball.
That’s my original style. He cheers on his teammates and helps them if they need anything. Because the result is not something that one person can control, I just do my best and wait for the next opportunity without dwelling on the result.
-If you have any strengths.
Maybe it’s a bright personality. I think that part can benefit the team a lot. It is not only helpful to the team by doing well, but it can affect the entire team by raising the morale of the team members.
– Manager Kim Won-hyung expects him to be able to hit a lot of home runs.
In fact, he didn’t come with a home run in mind. I am training mainly on contact, and I do not want to hit a home run because I want to hit it. I think it will come out naturally when contact is made well, so I hope that will happen.
– Are there any players you became close with?
He doesn’t know his name yet, but he knows that the player’s nickname is ‘Pikachu’. (nickname of infielder Choi Joo-hwan). He gets along well talking a lot about Korean and Cuban culture.
-Did you have any prior knowledge about the KBO League? Among the players who played in Korea, are there any players you have a relationship with?
He is also friends with Juan Lagares and Wilmer Font, who he played for last year. He is also friendly with Jose Miguel Fernandez and Audrey Samer Despine. After signing the contract, I asked my friends what this league was like and had a conversation.
– What advice did you receive?
He didn’t give me any specific advice, but he said that if I go and show my hard work and diligence, everyone will take care of me and like me.
– What is your strength on defense?
I play because I really want to help the pitcher. I wonder if I can catch the ball that I can’t catch. I want to show more through the game.
-If you predict your chances of success in Korea.
If I work out hard and play in a healthy manner throughout the season, I think I will be able to succeed.
-I have a World Series championship ring. I think I would like to add a championship ring in Korea as well.
One does not fill the castle. I want to take two or three more.
-SSG is the No. 1 team at home. part to look forward to.
Perhaps if there are a lot of spectators in the stadium, more energy will come out during the game. Then, wouldn’t it be more exciting and more action that you wouldn’t be able to do without an audience?