“It opened my eyes.” “It’s a different level.”
Both the commander, a former catcher, and the catcher representing Korea are full of praise. Thumbs up and thumbs down, reaffirming that it’s a different kind of talent. Kim Hyung-jun, 24, who led Korea to gold at the Asian Games, will lead NC’s 2023 fall baseball team.
Kim wore the starting catcher’s mask in both games of the semifinals against SSG and the wild-card deciding game against Doosan. NC has a veteran catcher in Park Se-hyuk (34). He led Doosan to the integrated title in 2019 and has 36 postseason games under his belt. With experience that can’t be ignored in the short game, Park was expected to be stable. However, he was not in the best shape at the end of the regular season due to a wrist tendinitis injury that lasted from August.
Without another viable catcher, Park’s absence could have been a concern, but NC wasn’t worried. They had Kim Hyung-jun, who had “zero” postseason experience, but more than made up for it in international competition. Kim was the starting catcher at the Hangzhou Asian Games in late September, where he led South Korea to its fourth consecutive gold medal. The team had been called the weakest ever, so there were concerns and worries, but the experience of leading them to gold was an asset in the postseason.
The results and evidence of that experience began in the wild-card game against Doosan. In Game 1 of the wild-card deciding game, the team showed off their long-ball power, hitting two home runs and sweeping four batters.
In the first game of the semifinals against SSG, he overcame a disadvantageous starting matchup to pull off a miracle win. NC started with Shin Min-hyuk, while SSG went with foreign ace Roenis Elias. The bats were stymied by Elias’ back-to-back pitches, but Shin Min-hyuk matched him and pitched a no-hitter. Kim Hyung-jun maximized Shin Min-hyuk’s strengths and minimized his at-bats, and Kim Sung-wook’s pinch-hit grand slam in the eighth inning secured the 4-3 victory.
In game two, Kim was back to work with the bat. In the top of the eighth inning, with a slim 4-3 lead, Kim launched a solo shot to left-center field off the perfectly controlled Moon Seung-won to score the winning run and set the stage for a 7-3 victory. The presence at home plate also shone. Song Myung-ki Choi Sung-young Lee Jae-hak led a three-hit, five-inning, three-run joint venture between the three homegrown starters.
“(Kim) Hyung-joon is guiding his brothers better than I thought for his young age,” said Choi, who was the second pitcher, describing the sturdy and reliable catcher as “Yong-chan and the other brothers ask him a lot and give him a lot of feedback.” 온라인카지노
Catcher trainer Kang Myung-ho smiles at Kim’s remarkable progress. “I think he’s gotten a little better at reading batters through the big games. Throughout the game, you can see where he mixes his pitches according to the batter’s tendencies. I think his eyes were opened after the Asian Games.”