Rookie Kim Gun-hee (19) is considered an indispensable resource for the new Kiwoom Heroes without Lee Jung-hoo (25) and Ahn Woo-jin (24).

The hardware and tools were outstanding. While playing as a catcher during Won High School, the average pop time on second base was 1.81 seconds and the maximum was 1.76 seconds. The pop time at second base is the time it takes for a catcher to receive a ball from a pitcher and throw it straight to second base, and an average of 1.81 seconds is a rare figure even in the Major League. He threw a fast ball with a top speed of 151 km/h on the mound. Even though he took the mound three years after the Onyang Middle School days, he showed rapid change-up skills such as sliders, curves, and circle changeups. Thanks to that, he drew attention as a player who could become Kiwoom's Shohei Ohtani (29) at the time of his nomination.

The 2023 season, the first year since his debut, has been a harsh year for Kim Gun-hee to realize his professional wall. In the first division, he recorded an ERA of 22.50 in three games as a pitcher, two hits (two home runs) and two walks and five strikeouts in two innings, and a batting average of 0.182 (2 hits in 11 at-bats) and two walks and four strikeouts in nine games as a batter.

Kim Gun-hee, who met during the closing camp in Wonju, Gangwon-do, said in an interview with Star News, "As I went a little further as a fielder, I couldn't throw a lot on the mound, but I felt that there was a lot of difference between good and bad every time I went up," adding, "But because there was such a big difference, I clearly saw something to supplement."

In terms of superficial results, the batter is the one that has paid off. In the Futures League, he recorded a batting average of 0.254 (35 hits in 138 at-bats) in 47 games, one homer, 19 RBIs, 14 walks and 44 strikeouts, two wins in 14 games, an unbeaten hold average of 9.69 and 14 walks and eight strikeouts in 13 innings. At the time of the nomination, Kim Gun-hee himself was a little more greedy for his one-position catcher and fielder than a pitcher who suddenly started in three years due to an injury.

However, the club and the player themselves put a little more weight on the pitcher's side. Kiwoom manager Hong Won-ki gave strength to the pitcher in the closing camp, saying, "51-49" for the possibility of pitching and hitting. Kim Gun-hee said, "I felt the wall in the professional league, both pitchers and batters are the same. However, it is the pitcher who wants to see beyond that limit. I think my strength is that I like the bat, but it's my shoulders. There are not many injuries to the shoulders or elbows. "As the club will decide, my attachment to pitchers has become a little more intense after coming to the professional world," he said.

The reason why a rookie in the first round, who had been torn between a pitcher and a batter, burned his enthusiasm for the pitcher was uniquely a home run hit by Park Byung-ho (37, KT Wiz). Kim Gun-hee took the mound in the top of the ninth inning against Gocheok KT on July 13 and hit back-to-back home runs by Park Byung-ho and Kim Joon-tae. In particular, he drew two swings and misses with a fastball against Park Byung-ho and threw a high fastball after a full-count match, facing a solo shot over left-center field.

"Every time I came out (only two innings in the first division) this year, senior players such as Kang Baek-ho, Huh Kyung-min and Park Byung-ho came out," Kim Gun-hee said. "In particular, I got a home run from Park Byung-ho, and the experience was really valuable to me. I thought it would be better to get hit than to be too scared. In the end, he hit a home run without giving a walk. "I threw with my own spirit, but my ball would have been light for seniors who have been hit with countless good balls," he said.

Based on this experience, Kim Gun-hee focused on saving fastballs and completing breaking balls while pitching and hitting at the same time in this closing camp. The experience at the plate helped me understand the pitcher's mind and fight the timing. Kim Gun-hee said, "In the first year, I vowed to show my strong pitching by trusting my fastball power even if I get a hit or a home run, and in the second year, I wanted to refine it a little more," and added, "I liked fastballs this year, but I felt that I needed to have two breaking balls to maximize the merits of my fastball." So now I'm intensively honing sliders and changeups. I worked hard not only as a pitcher but also as a batter, so I think whatever I choose later will be helpful. It was a really meaningful camp for me," he said.

Fortunately, there are many seniors in the team who seek advice and use him as a role model. Kim Gun-hee said, "It's not easy to throw 150km (before your debut). Pitcher coach Lee Seung-ho, who affirmed that his talent is an outstanding player, talked about Kim Jae-woong (25), Kim Jae-yoon (33, Samsung Lions) and Park Young-hyun (20, KT) on the same team. All four are pitchers who have excellent vertical movement of fastballs, making it more difficult for batters even though they are not outstanding.

Kim Gun-hee said, "Coaches Lee Seung-ho and Song Soo-young (SSG) really taught me a lot. Coach Lee Seung-ho showed a video of (Kim) Jae-woong throwing and said, "I want to be a pitcher who can catch an opponent with a fastball like (Park) Young-hyun or (Kim) Jae-yoon." That's why this camp is focusing on putting strength on the ball," he said.

Whether it's a batter or a pitcher, Kim Gun-hee is a resource that needs to be seen a little longer. Whether it's catcher or first base, the level of completion should be improved in defense, not to mention a pitcher who only played in nine third-year games (13 ⅔ innings with a 1.29 ERA) throughout high school. This is something that the team was prepared to some extent at the time of the nomination. It is rather a hopeful factor that he has been recognized a little more as a pitcher even in a small sample of his first professional season.

Above all, the player is interested in pitching and willing to settle in the first division without being too late. Kim Gun-hee said, "I was really grateful that (Ahn) Woo-jin said that I got hit a lot in the first and second years. He encouraged me that I could grow if my thoughts on baseball deepened, he said. "I want to catch my seniors (who I faced this year) next time." All of them are representative of Korea, and I have to try to catch all those people to grow myself. Woo-jin said he also made a slight grade in his fourth or fifth year. That's why I'm trying to produce results by the fourth year somehow. "I think I will work harder without becoming lazy if I make up my mind like that," he said.   토토