Kim Seo-hyun (19)안전놀이터, a rookie of the Hanwha Express, threw a personal best 160.7km fastball based on Trackman. Coincidentally, on the day coach Carlos Subero was sacked, he continued his growth by recording his highest speed. The dream of 100 miles (160.9 km) has also come closer. The birth of an unprecedented 100-mile duo with team senior Moon Dong-ju (20), who threw up to 161 km on Trackman standards, is just around the corner.
On the 11th, against Daejeon Samsung, Kim Seo-hyun made a relief mound as the 4th pitcher in the 7th inning, striking out 2 in 1 inning and not allowing a run, contributing to Hanwha’s 4-0 victory.
Kim Seo-hyun, who climbed the mound in the 7th inning with a 4-0 lead, started with a double from the right by Jose Pirella in the 7th inning. Right fielder Lee Jin-young tried a diving catch on a frontal hit, but he missed the ball back and it became a double. This ball was measured at 160.7 km based on Trackman.
It was Kim Seo-hyun’s personal best arrest record. In his first team debut match against Doosan in Daejeon on the 19th of last month, the 2nd ball against Lee Yu-chan in the 7th came out 160.1km, and it was 0.6km faster than that. It was measured as 158.4 km based on ‘PTS’, the official record company of KBO. This was also 0.5km faster than the best 157.9km recorded in his debut race.
What shone more than his fast ball was his ability to manage crises. He did not waver after being hit by a double and cooked the next three batters. He fouled Jae-il Oh with 1-2 consecutive fastballs, and then struck out with a low swing on the 3rd pitch.
Kim Seo-hyun, who also induced Kim Tae-gun to fly into the second base with a slider on the third pitch, struck out Ji-chan Kim with a swing outside the sixth pitch after a full count match. With a total of 14 pitches, it was a two-pitch game with 9 fastballs and 5 sliders.
As there were no runners by 4 runs, his first hold in his debut was postponed until next time, but Kim Seo-hyun, who maintained a sense of stability with no runs in 3 consecutive games, lowered his season average ERA from 3.38 to 3.00. He struck out 12 in 9 innings and walked only 3.
[OSEN=Reporter Kim Seong-rak] Hanwha Kim Seo-hyun. 2023.04.28 /ksl0919@osen.co.kr
After the game that day, Hanwha sacked coach Subero, blaming him for poor performance. Coach Subero said of Kim Seo-hyun ahead of the Samsung match on the 9th, two days before the hardship, “I will give Kim Seo-hyun a little more weighty responsibility.” He has the heart of a closer than most players. One of the toughest positions in baseball is the closer. Seohyun Kim is ready to become a closer in terms of mind. He is the player who should be the finisher for our team in the future.”
“If you ask the player himself, he will tell you that he is ready to finish right now. Currently, Park Sang-won is showing good form on the spot, so Kim Seo-hyun won’t be the finisher right away, but time will tell. In the future, he is sure that Kim Seo-hyun will be a good finisher,” he said in a confident tone.
New coach Choi Won-ho has also been watching Kim Seo-hyun from the rookie camp in January to the Futures last month. Regarding Kim Seo-hyun’s position, coach Choi Won-ho said, “I can’t use it as a starter right now. He said, “I have to use it as a bullpen,” and said, “He wants to play the bullpen so much,” and seemed to be considering the possibility as a finisher in the future. Kim Seo-hyun, who saw the finishing talent of both current and former coaches, took a step towards her dream.