The Hanwha Eagles of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) are in the midst of their final training camp, so it’s no surprise that a player who joined the national team was tongue-in-cheek when he heard the news.
Right-handed fireballer Seo-hyun Kim, 20, is the only Hanwha player to be included in the 35-man preliminary roster for the 2024 WBSC Premier12, and has been training with Team Korea at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul for the tournament since the past 24 days.
When asked about his first senior national team call-up, Kim Seo-hyun said, “It’s strange to be on my first national team as a professional. It’s definitely different from the youth national team because I’m playing with seniors I’ve only seen on TV, players who are good in other teams, and seniors. It’s still a little awkward,” he said.
He added, “There are a lot of things I want to learn. I’ve practiced battery breathing with Park Dong-won, and the pitchers are all good pitchers. I haven’t approached them for advice yet, but whenever they ask me something, I’m doing a good job of answering.”
Kim, who became the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 rookie draft out of Seoul High School, spent most of his time in Seosan, not Daejeon, in his second year after realizing the high barriers of the professional game in his rookie year. He changed his arm angle and pitching form to compensate for his weak fastball, which reached a high of 160 kilometers per hour, but his velocity diminished.
Kim Seo-hyun became a completely different pitcher after meeting the ‘old man’ Kim Kyung-moon.
Combined with the seasoned technical and mental guidance of pitching coach Yang Sang-moon, Kim rebounded with a 37-game record of 1-2 with a 3.76 ERA in 10 starts. The highlight was July, when she had a 0.96 ERA in nine games and showed off her “crazy stability” with 13 consecutive shutouts.
However, Kim attributed it to luck, not skill. “It’s 80 percent luck. I was very lucky,” he said. ”When I went 13 games without conceding a goal, Joo Hyun-sang helped me once, and the defense helped me once. The rest is about 10 percent my skill and 10 percent the team atmosphere,” he humbly replied.
Nevertheless, Kim Seo-hyun, 메이저사이트 who made the national team, said, “First of all, I felt more relaxed this year. I gained a lot of confidence, so I think I filled in the 10%,” she added.
Kim Seo-hyun is the only Hanwha player on the reserve roster after senior national teammates Moon Dong-joo and Noh Si-hwan were injured, so he is more determined than ever to survive.
Ryu plans to finalize the 28-man roster through training in the Gocheok Dome and three exhibition games against Cuba and Sangmu. The competition on the mound has become even fiercer with the addition of pitchers Kim Si-hoon, Lee Kang-joon, and Cho Min-seok.
“I’m the only one from Hanwha, so I feel like I have to survive until the end,” Kim said encouragingly.
Hanwha’s commanders and seniors are also rooting for her survival. According to Kim, coach Kim Kyung-moon said, “Go and learn a lot. I know pitching coach Choi Il-un very well, so I hope you learn a lot from him,” and Noh Si-hwan said, ”The national team will be very helpful. Learn a lot,” and Moon Dong-ju affectionately warned, ”Don’t fall off (the final roster), or you’ll die.”
When asked if training for his first national team was tough, he shook his head. He had heard from his Hanwha teammates about the grueling Kim Kyung-moon-pyo finals training in Daejeon.
“I think the amount of training here is appropriate. I don’t think it’s too much,” he said, adding, ”I heard that the pitcher’s run in Daejeon is one and a half hours. My brothers also told me that they ran well,” she laughed.
Assuming he makes the final roster, Kim Seo-hyun is expected to be the team’s back door, along with Kim Taek-yeon, Park Young-hyun, and Jeong Jung-young. All eyes are already on Kim to see if her fastball, which has finally found its groove this year, will work in international competition.
“I’ll throw for the team,” Kim said. “I’m the youngest in the national team, so I have to support the seniors. If I go to Taiwan, I won’t think about anything else but baseball,” he said, adding that he is ready for the Premier 12.