In November, the maximum speed was recorded up to 155 km. It's crazy.
Hanwha Eagles right-hander Kim Seo-hyun made his perfect national team debut against Cuba, taking full advantage of the power of his specialty, fastball.
Kim Seo-hyun started in the top of the sixth inning of the 2024 WBSC Premier 12 warm-up match between the South Korean baseball team and the Cuban baseball team at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 1st and completely blocked one inning without losing a point.
Kim Seo-hyun, who is the only one in Hanwha to join the preliminary 35-member list of the 2024 WBSC Premier 12 national team, is a prospect for Hanwha's most cherished fastball with Moon Dong-joo. Kim Seo-hyun, who has sprayed a fastball of up to 160km since he was a student at Seoul High School, debuted professionally as the No. 1 player in the first round of Hanwha in 2023.
However, his control was shaken, with only one save and a 7.25 ERA in 20 games in his debut season. He allowed 23 walks in 22.1 innings. However, he showed further growth this year, with one win, two losses and 10 holds with a 3.76 ERA in 38.1 innings in 37 games.
It is said that there are many fastball pitchers, including Kwak Bin and Kim Taek-yeon (hereinafter referred to as Doosan), but Kim Seo-hyun, who throws the fastest ball in terms of maximum arrest, was worth it. And Kim Seo-hyun, who took the mound in the top of the sixth inning with South Korea leading 2-0, seemed a little nervous, but he met expectations in his senior national team debut.
Above all, Kim Seo-hyun's maximum speed on the day was 155 kilometers. Although the Korean Series has been held until recently, there is an overall hiatus for the players. It's a surprising catch considering it's offseason. Kim Seo-hyun showed his ability to overwhelm Cuba's batters by spraying all six pitches, about half of the 13 pitches he threw in one inning, more than 150 kilometers of fastballs.
The maximum speed of the fastball was 155 kilometers, the lowest was 151 kilometers, with an average of 153 kilometers, and four of the six pitches were put on strikes. When the control was relatively shaken, he also showed his skill in using the slider in the right place with a crystal ball to draw out the opponent's swing and error. All of the remaining seven pitches were sliders on the day, with a maximum of 138 kilometers and an average speed of 135 kilometers.
In the top of the sixth inning, South Korea put its fifth pitcher on the mound. Hanwha's fastball right-hander Kim Seo-hyun is the main character. Kim Seo-hyun's first pitch was shot 152 kilometers from the first pitch on the electronic display. Then, the second pitch with the sound of shouting came out to 154 kilometers, but the ball flowed to the foul line. However, Kim Seo-hyun smoothly caught his first batter in his senior national team debut when he grounded out Gibert to second base in the fourth pitch.
Kim Seo-hyun appeared to be nervous, scoring three consecutive balls against Moncada, a big shot with 93 home runs in the Major League, his follow-up batter. However, after making a full count by inducing strikes and fouls, he caught another ground ball to second base and caught a big fish.
Then there was the help of the fielders. The follow-up hitter Arubaruena's hit caught a sharp hit between the third baseman and the shortstop as Kim Hwi-jip slid. The throw was high immediately, but first baseman Moon Bo-kyung caught the ball after the jump and immediately touched out the batter, lightening Kim Seo-hyun's shoulders.
South Korea and Cuba will also play in the same group B in the first round of the 2024 WBSC Premier 12 in Taiwan from November 9. Ahead of the two preliminary matches in Group B on the 14th, Korea and Cuba will face off in Korea under the concept of a mock test by the Premier 12 that will take place about two weeks ago.
If Kim Seo-hyun is finally on board the national team, there is a good chance that he will play against Cuba as a result. In many ways, it would have been a great confidence for Kim Seo-hyun, and at the same time, it was a great effort to confirm that the Korean national team has a secret weapon that can spray 155km of fastballs even though he is not 100% physical.
[Kochuk (Seoul) = Kim Wonik, MK Sports Reporter]
