“I’m surprised that Seo-hyun (Kim) went out in four games and didn’t score.”
Hanwha Eagles right-hander Kim Seo-hyun (20) showed off his skills to the fullest at the “2024 Premier 12.” He pitched in four of the five first-round group matches that Korea played, and recorded three hits, three walks and four strikeouts in four innings. Although Korea failed to qualify for the Super Round by ranking third in Group B with three wins and two losses, Kim certainly shone on the mound. This is why Korea’s pitching coach Choi Il-eon picked Kim Seo-hyun as the player who has improved the most in this year’s event.
Kim Seo-hyun, a former ace of Seoul High School, joined Hanwha as the No. 1 overall pick in the first round of the 2023 Rookie Draft. Since his debut season, he has attracted attention by throwing fastballs and sharp sliders that reach nearly 160 kilometers per hour, but he has not been consistent. He changed his pitching form even if he shook a little, perhaps because he was burdened with the overall No. 1, and frequent changes began to shake Kim Seo-hyun’s basic frame. He crumpled his pride with only one save, 22 ⅓ innings, and an ERA of 7.25 in 20 games last year, and he was a pitcher who rarely got a chance in the first team until the first half of this year.
In the middle of this season, Kim Seo-hyun started to regain confidence by meeting Kim Kyung-moon, the new Hanwha coach, and Yang Sang-moon, the pitching coach. He also promised to fix his pitching form as one now, and Kim and Yang applauded any outcome and consistently hired him so that Kim Seo-hyun would not be happy with the results of the game. In such faith, Kim Seo-hyun began to find stability, and this season, he gained stability by winning one game, holding 10 ⅓, 38 ⅓ innings, and an ERA of 3.76 in 37 games.
When Kim joined the Premier 12 training roster last month, he was not sure whether he would join the final roster. He had question marks over his capability to wear the national flag. Coach Kim Kyung-moon advised pitching coach Choi Il-eon to learn well when he joins the national team, and Kim tried to grow by listening to Choi’s advice during the training period. His efforts have led to good results at this year’s event.
During the training period, Kim Seo-hyun also expressed his gratitude, saying, “The coach taught me a lot of posture and things like that.”
Korea had its last Group B match with Australia at Tianmu Baseball Stadium in Taipei on Wednesday. Japan and Taiwan already confirmed the top two spots in Group B, but Korea was determined to do its best to win the match. Choi said he would not deploy Kim Seo-hyun, who has already pitched in three games, but Kim Seo-hyun took the mound as a setup man in the eighth inning with Korea leading 5-2, allowing no hit, one walk, and one strikeout in one inning.
“Kim Seo-hyun threw the most four games. His attitude is that he wants to throw. He has been like that since the first day of the camp training. I wasn’t going to use it today (April 18), but I could see that he wanted to throw it. That’s why I put him in the eighth inning. I like that attitude,” Choi said.
Taking Kim Seo-hyun’s small success in the Premier 12 as a stepping stone, he hoped that he would be able to grow into a starting pitcher if he returned to Hanwha. Of course, even if it is difficult right now, he expected that it would help the development of Korean 안전놀이터 baseball only when he can become the team’s ace in the long run.
Choi said, “There are no starting pitchers. Many promising players play as intermediate pitchers when the ball speed up, but I hope they can improve their skills to become the starting pitchers. At international competitions, even pitchers who are said to be thrown in Korea are not allowed to compete in the World Baseball Classic. It is as good as the Asian Games. He lacks ball control and breaking ball control.”
“I went around a lot in Japan for the past three years as a coach for the national team. I also watched amateur, college, and business baseball games. I practice a lot and throw a lot of balls. This is a culture in Korea where people don’t throw balls. You have to throw well to gain control, and you have to take a break from weight training to make sure you catch a strike. You have to develop your physical stamina to avoid getting hurt. When a promising player comes to a pro league, he needs to take a step up in training,” he stressed.
“The first and second starting pitchers of each team are foreign pitchers who come from Triple-A (the U.S. Minor League). This means that Korean pitchers have less than Triple-A. The quality of baseball will be enhanced only when Korean players take over the second starting pitcher. Currently, foreigners use one-two punch, which was not the case before. Ryu Hyun-jin (Hanwha), Yoon Seok-min (retired) and Kim Kwang-hyun (SSG), who used to be first starting pitchers, pitched better than foreigners. If one or two players do not show up like that (in the international competition going forward), it will be very difficult for Kim Seo-hyun, who has good talent, to grow further so that he can consider himself as a starting pitcher in his team.”
