HANWHA KIM SEO-HYEON "I LEARNED THE SECRET TO MOON DONG-JOO'S SUCCESS IN JAPAN"

“My goal since last year was 100 strikeouts a year… I will definitely achieve it this year.”

At this time last year, Hanwha Eagles pitcher Kim Seo-hyun (19) had nothing to fear in the world.

After graduating from Seoul High School and wearing the Hanwha uniform as the No. 1 overall player in the KBO rookie draft, he expressed his grand ambition to strike out 100 times in a season with a fastball.

However, the barrier to the professional stage was too high for a 'fearless rookie' to conquer with just his spirit. 파워볼

Last year, Seo-Hyun Kim appeared in 20 games and earned one save, but suffered a bitter taste as her average ERA was only 7.25 in 22⅓ innings.

He only struck out 26, which was far short of his goal of 100 strikeouts.

At this year's camp in Okinawa, Japan, Seohyun Kim is busy making up for what she lacks.

On the 25th, Kim Seo-hyun met with reporters at Gotinda Stadium in Yaese, Okinawa, Japan, where Hanwha is holding spring camp, and said, "Still, I think this season will improve a lot compared to last year," and added, "These days, pitching coach Park Seung-min also says, 'It's good.

He explained, “My confidence went up a lot because I said, ‘It’s good.’”

Kim Seo-hyun focused on strengthening her body and maintaining pitching balance throughout the winter.

He said, "I've gained a lot of balance, and since I've been eating a lot lately, I've gotten a little bigger.

My pace is better than last year," and "Thanks to Coach Park Seung-min's help, my control has stabilized.

He gave me a lot of homework during the off-season.

Thanks to that, I got better," he explained.

Kim Seo-hyun, who throws a fastball at a maximum speed of 160 km/h, suffered from poor ball control last season.

In 22⅓ innings, he allowed 23 walks and even gave up 7 pitches that hit his body.

In particular, he had good control of his fastball.

Because he didn't listen, he had a harder time dealing with others.

Seo-Hyun Kim's on-base average per inning (WHIP) last year was 2.01.

There was no first-team spot for a reliever who put out an average of two runners per inning.

Seohyun Kim emphasized, “The reason I threw a lot of breaking balls last year was because I couldn’t throw fastballs as I wanted.

But I’ve gained more confidence these days.”

Moon Dong-ju, one year older than Kim Seo-hyun, grew rapidly last year and has now emerged as a candidate for the 'young ace' representing Korean baseball.

If a senior with a short age gap is far ahead, the junior is bound to feel impatient.

Kim Seo-hyun said, "Dongju hyung is usually good at it," but added, "After spending two or three months together in Japan since last year, Dongju hyung has his own schedule, even working out. Every single one of those things is the secret to Dongju hyung's growth.

I found out this time."

This year, with the return of Ryu Hyun-jin (36), Hanwha will not lag behind in pitching ability compared to any other team if Kim Seo-hyun does his part on the mound.

Kim Seo-hyun, who said she wants to learn the change-up from Ryu Hyun-jin, says the pitch she's working on the most these days is the slider.

Seohyun Kim uses fastballs, two-seam fastballs, changeups, and curves.

Kim Seo-hyun explained, "I'm preparing to practice my slider quickly and use it as early as the end of this year or next year.

Coach (Park Seung-min) says, 'This is good enough to be used in games.'"

He is also preparing to fix his pitching posture in one position to ensure stable ball control.

Kim Seo-hyun said, "I started fixing my pitching posture during the closing camp last year.

It's still in progress to this day."

This year's goal is the same as last year.

That’s 100 strikeouts.

Seohyun Kim said, “I couldn’t achieve it last year, but I definitely want to try it this year.”