The first impression is good. He confidently stood up to the national team even though his physical condition was inevitably declining. If the two are active, KIA’s expected ranking will naturally rise. This is the story of KIA rookie pitcher Yoon Young-chul (19) and infielder Byeon Woo-hyuk (23) who joined the KIA through a trade.
On the 20th (Korean time), Yoon Young-chul and Byeon Woo-hyuk played against the national team in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) held at the Tucson Kino Complex in Arizona, USA. Yoon Young-cheol got on the mound in the top of the 3rd inning and gave up 2 runs in 2 innings. Byun Woo-hyuk played as the 7th hitter and 3rd baseman and recorded 1 hit and 1 RBI in 5 at-bats, including a home run.
As this is the first real match this year, a struggle was expected. Unlike the national team players who quickly increased their pace from the off-season, it is a burden for ordinary professional players to play in practice at this point. Nonetheless, both players showed their strengths.
Yoon Young-cheol, who was nominated as the second overall pick in the 2023 rookie draft, used all pitches against the national team seniors that day. Although his condition did not improve to the point where his fastball maximum speed was only 136 km/h, he tried to take away the timing by constantly changing the type of pitch.
After the match, Yoon Young-chul said, “I was very nervous because it was my first professional debut, but Han Seung-taek took the lead well.” Still, when he got on the mound, he had an urge to get an out. Looking at the seniors of the national team, I thought that I really want to be in that position, and now that feeling has grown bigger.” 스포츠토토
He continued, “It is regrettable that the first pitch strike rate was low. Still, I think my strengths are my control, the ability to use breaking balls, and the less mental side,” he said. If given the opportunity, I really want to be a starting pitcher, and if I go around the starting rotation, I want to increase the number of wins bit by bit,” he revealed his goal for his first season.At the end of the 7th inning, Byun Woo-hyuk fired a solo shot over the left fence against teammate Lee Eui-ri. He said, “It’s my first real match in six months and I have to deal with good pitchers, so I came into the game with the thought of seeing a lot of balls without being greedy.”