Hanwha Eagles' Young-gun Kim Seo-hyun (21), who is already in his third year, has set his mind with his brother's uniform number. He is determined to completely become one of the pillars of the team's strength by playing his role as an older brother who left the professional stage early.안전놀이터
Hanwha's team, led by head coach Kim Kyung-moon, left for Melbourne, Australia via Incheon International Airport on the morning of the 22nd.
Kim Seo-hyun is a player who needs to play well for Hanwha, which is aiming for the postseason. This is because he can be a great addition if he exerts his potential, which has been named the No. 1 overall pick in 2023.
"My mindset is similar to last year's, but I feel new again," Kim Seo-hyun said in a meeting with reporters before leaving the country. "I thought I had to change a lot last year, but as a result, my performance was not good. I am starting with the idea that I need to do better this year."
Kim Seo-hyun, who is drawing attention due to his fastball speed of nearly 160 kilometers per hour, struggled with his pitching form last year. He had difficulty in the beginning due to poor balance, but only returned to the top team in July. Fortunately, he showed the possibility of making a "must-win" team in the second half under the mentorship of pitcher Yang Sang-moon, who joined the Hanwha coaching staff with Kim Kyung-moon.
Kim Seo-hyun said, "I have established so many times that there is no talk of pitching form now," adding, "I have worked hard on balance exercises and lowered my body fat percentage."
At the same time, he said, "I showed good performance at the end of last year and gained a lot of confidence as I was selected for the national team. I have expectations that it will get better this year."
Kim also changed his jersey number ahead of this season. He chose No. 44 instead of No. 54, which he wore for the past two seasons. No. 44 was used by Kim Ji-hyun, former SSG Landers.
"I changed my number because I've never finished a full season while writing 54," he said. "I think I need to do better because I'm wearing the number that my brother used to wear. I'm setting my mind."
This season's goal is to completely secure a place in the must-win group. He is committed to maintaining the sense he got in the second half of the last season.
"I think I need to do better than last year," Kim Seo-hyun said. "I want to do better this year than in the second half of last year and settle down as a must-win group for the full season. I want to be a pitcher who can block me when it's important."
"I always have a dream of becoming a final pitcher, but I'm not yet close to Hyun Sang," he said, adding, "I'll do my best as much as I can for now."
I want to establish myself as a solid pitcher overall, not just a fastball pitcher.
"I don't want to dwell on the speed limit. Throwing fastballs doesn't mean you can't throw breaking balls," Kim said. "I threw quite a few breaking balls last year and it was fun. I want to be remembered as a pitcher who can throw fastballs and become a breaking ball control ball this year as well."
Reporter Kwon Hyuk-joon ([email protected] )