"I hope Woo-ju didn't walk a hard path like me." Sincerely, the 'No. 1 overall pick' for a rookie of 156km in Hanwha
"I hope Woo-ju didn't walk a hard path like me." Sincerely, the 'No. 1 overall pick' for a rookie of 156km in Hanwha
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When did he grow up so much? Kim Seo-hyun (21) of the Hanwha Eagles expressed his affection for Jung Woo-joo (19), a junior who is adapting to the professional stage.
After winning the 2025 KBO exhibition game against SSG Landers at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 11th, Kim Seo-hyun expressed his honest feelings, saying, "If (Jung) Woo-ju is struggling, I want to help first."
After graduating from Hyoje Elementary School, Jayang Middle School, and Seoul High School, Kim Seo-hyun joined Hanwha in the first round of the KBO Rookie Draft in 2023. Since his days at Seoul High School, he has attracted attention by throwing fast balls at 155km/h, but in the professional league, he suffered from the modification of his pitching form and the control of his ball. He recorded a 7.25 ERA in 20 games in the first division of his debut season, and only after manager Kim Kyung-moon and pitching coach Yang Sang-moon took over Hanwha last year, he was able to stabilize little by little and finish his second year with a 3.76 ERA in 37 games.
It seems that his image was projected on this year's rookie Jung Woo-joo. Jung Woo-joo is also a top prospect who joined Hanwha as the second-ranked player in the first round of the KBO Rookie Draft in 2025 after graduating from Gunam Elementary School (Namyang Ju Little), University Bu Middle School, and Jeonju High School. He has been attracting attention as a fireballer who has grown rapidly since the winter of his second year of high school and constantly throws 156 kilometers per hour, and his expectations are as high as when Kim Seo-hyun was nominated.
During the spring camp, Jung Woo-joo had to suffer so much as to say that he was "downbeat." During five practice games, Jung had difficulty controlling the ball by allowing seven hits, five walks, five strikeouts and four runs in four innings. "I lost a lot of confidence. I couldn't meet the expectations of fans, and I wanted to do well because other rookies such as Kwon Min-gyu threw well. However, I was so greedy that I couldn't do what I had to do," Jung said.
Kim Seo-hyun, however, wished that he would not do so. "I hope (Jung) Woo-ju thinks like when I was a rookie. I hope so. Since I am a rookie, I hope that Woo-ju will show the spirit of a rookie," Kim Seo-hyun said. "I had a hard time because I couldn't do that at the time, but I hope that Woo-ju doesn't do that."
From that point of view, he took on the role of mentor for Jung Woo-ju, playing catch ball. "I saw (Jung) Woo-ju wandering during the spring camp. He sometimes gets discouraged by breaking balls, so he always makes me throw breaking balls little by little when playing catch. I have improved experience by making a routine to practice breaking balls when playing catch. If you do that a little more, you will be able to improve yourself," Kim Seo-hyun said with a smile.
He seemed much more relaxed. There were no rookies who were chased by something in the past. "I feel like (Jung) Woo-ju will do better than me. That's why I'm not going to tell you any more secrets," Kim said jokingly. "If Woo-ju says it's hard, I want to help him first. I can be here because I've been through such a hard process. But I don't want Woo-ju to go down that hard path. I hope it works out a little better."
Moon Dong-ju (22), a one-year senior, showed what Kim Seo-hyun, who is already in his third year, wanted. On this day, Hanwha won 8-0 over SSG with overwhelming pitching, in which six pitchers took the mound and gave up only one walk during nine innings, with 11 strikeouts. Ryan Weiss started the game with seven strikeouts with no outs in four ⅔ innings, throwing fast balls up to 156 kilometers per hour, and after Kim Do-bin (⅓ innings), Moon Dong-ju, Kim Jong-soo, Kim Seo-hyun and Han Seung-hyuk took one inning each to complete the victory. 온라인바카라
Kim Seo-hyun, who moved to the league's top bullpen last year, displayed his excellent condition by throwing perfect pitching by striking out one ball during one inning by throwing fast balls up to 156 kilometers per hour. Weiss and Kim did not receive much attention despite fast balls that are rarely seen in Korea. Moon Dong-ju, who returned to the mound after six months, threw an average speed of 157 kilometers per hour and a maximum speed of 159 kilometers per hour. The footage also showed Kim admiring Moon's ball. However, what impressed Kim was not just fast-paced speed.
"Actually, I expected Dong-ju (Moon) to reach 159 kilometers per hour, but he really did," Kim Seo-hyun said. "However, I think it is better to have a more stable control than to be conscious of fastballs. Dong-ju said, "I envy you because you can play both fastballs and control." "My recent record was not bad. I feel like I can do better when the season opens, so I hope the season comes sooner. This year, we have new stadiums, new uniforms and new players, so I want to show more good performances in front of our fans."