Pro Baseball Hungry Spirit?..."If You Fight for Your Life, You Really Die"

Lee Ji-pung Hanwha Eagles Head Training Coach
Book 'Don't Run, You'll Get Tired'

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo Mideum] The dictionary definition of ‘best effort’ is the most excellent and finest method. However, it does not mean blind hard work. There is a saying that one of the scariest people in the world is someone who just works hard blindly. A line like this appears in the drama My Mister: “When I was in school, no matter how hard I studied, when I lay down to sleep at night, all I could remember was having three meals a day. This is exactly that situation. It feels like I worked hard to death, but there’s nothing memorable... No matter how much I dig, there’s nothing, just eating and pooping, eating and pooping.” If you only work hard vaguely, there might be no good results. It might have been better not to have worked so hard at all... In that sense, Lee Ji-pung, the author of the book Don’t Run, You’ll Get Tired, emphasizes pace control. We asked Coach Lee Ji-pung, who has worked with Nexen Heroes, KT Wiz, SK Wyverns, and from this year serves as the head training coach for Hanwha Eagles, about how to work hard appropriately.

- “If it doesn’t work, make it work; if you die, then die...” This is a widely used proverb(?) in Korea. But I heard you advise caution against working to death.

"If you work to death, 99% of people are bound to fail. So the point is to enjoy life while doing anything rather than working to death. Then the probability of surviving without dying will increase."

- Why is it an environment where one is bound to die?

“Only the top 1% of athletes succeed, and the remaining 99% inevitably fail. Saying that the 99% fail because they didn’t work to death doesn’t fit.”

- Former basketball player Seo Jang-hoon said it’s impossible to enjoy sports while playing...

“Did Seo Jang-hoon never drink with friends or go out? I don’t think he devoted all his time only to basketball. Also, I’m sure if he had enjoyed it more, he would have become an even greater player.”

- In Korea, which underwent dynamic industrialization, such virtues were considered merits. Weren’t they somewhat indispensable for growth?

"It’s possible that if we hadn’t worked to death, growth might have been faster. You can tell just by how much fuss was made when the five-day workweek was introduced. I don’t think rapid industrialization or growth was because of working to death."

- Society developed, so the five-day workweek became possible. Could it have been possible during times of poverty?

“What is the standard for poverty? Even now, many people are poor. To increase work efficiency and performance, appropriate rest must accompany it; just working blindly doesn’t improve results. Also, I think if the five-day workweek had been implemented earlier, growth might have been faster.”

- I heard trainers help with injury treatment and rehabilitation management for athletes. Does mental rehabilitation fall under that as well?

"The hardest thing for injured athletes at the very end is the fear of pain recurrence. That often determines the success of rehabilitation. So mental management is a very important part."

- How is mental management for athletes carried out?

"As mentioned in the book, I tend to wait until the athletes need it. I wait for the timing when my advice will be accepted. For example, when they fall into a deep slump or, in the case of pitchers, after a large number of runs allowed. At that time, the athlete either comes to me directly or I initiate a conversation."

- What is the most important aspect in mental management?

"The core is that failure is natural. Growth comes through failure, and without failure, success is impossible. I explain this according to the athlete’s situation."

- In the past, it was openly known that verbal abuse and violence were used to ‘harden’ the mind.

"As I mentioned earlier, it would have been better if that hadn’t been done. Everyone knows that sports stars in advanced countries didn’t become world-class through violence or verbal abuse."

- Baseball players’ bodies are their lifeline, and their careers are relatively short, so the pressure must be intense.

"Players who feel intense pressure have a lower probability of success than those who don’t. Everyone in the world lives with a lot of anxiety and pressure in life. The key is how you endure that pressure. Feeling pressure doesn’t change the outcome."

- The methods you mentioned above seem applicable to the general public as well. Any advice?

"As I said before, feeling intense pressure and worrying doesn’t change the outcome. It’s important to distinguish well between what I can control and what I cannot."

- Doing well and making someone do well are different. If you have know-how to draw out athletes’ potential, please share.

"All players who join professional baseball teams have basic abilities. First, I identify what kind of environment prevents them from demonstrating those abilities and if there is anyone negatively influencing them... Then I do my best to resolve those issues."

- There is a saying that ‘a curse is on Hanwha fans.’ Please say a word for the mental management of the fans.

"There isn’t much time left. Just a little more..."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.