Did a genius recognize a genius?
While everyone is focusing on fastball pitchers that can travel over 150km. There is a 20-year-old rookie who showed that pitching comes first.
On the 14th, right-handed pitcher Kim Seo-hyun,메이저놀이터 who joined the Hanwha Eagles as the first overall pick in the 2023 KBO Rookie Draft, recorded a maximum speed of 158 km and an average speed of 154 km while recording 1 inning, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 strikeout and no runs against KIA.
Yoon Young-chul, who joined the KIA Tigers as the second overall pick, watched his friend pitching a fastball from the dugout.
The KIA Tigers visited the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 16th after an expedition to Daejeon. Manager Kim Jong-guk put Yoon Young-cheol on the mound as the starting pitcher that day. From his sophomore year at Chungam High School, Yoon Young-cheol worked as an ace with then-junior sidearm pitcher Lee Joo-hyeong (NC) and lifted the championship trophy at the 76th Blue Dragon High School Baseball Championship.
While Kim Seo-hyun and Shim Jun-seok drew attention with their fastballs that ran over 150 km, Yun Young-cheol dominated the high school mound with his elaborate throwing and breaking ball that stole batters’ timing.
Yoon Young-cheol, whom I met during my amateur days, gave me the impression that he was a sincere and kind player. He wanted to pitch one more inning for the team, and he was a player who always put his teammates first.
He is not fast, but Yoon Young-cheol, who knows how to fight timing by throwing a 140km fastball that stabs every corner, changeup, slider, and curveball, has grown a step further since joining the KIA Tigers.
In the 1st inning, Kim Hye-seong, the national team player, threw a ground ball to second base with two balls. Yoon Young-chul, who struck out at the end of the game against Lee Hyeong-jong, took a deep breath before the game with genius hitter Lee Jeong-hoo.
Yoon Young-cheol’s first pitch in the match against KBO batting champion Lee Jung-hoo was a fastball. Yoon Young-cheol threw his own ball without avoiding him. When the 140km fastball was driven to the center, Lee Jung-hoo made a hit with a simple swing. Yoon Young-cheol, who allowed the first pitch, acknowledged the mistake with a meaningful smile. Afterwards, Yun Yeong-chul, who gave up a straight walk to 4th batter Russell even though he preempted 2S, regained his composure and ended the inning by striking out Ju-Hong Park on a swing.
Kiwoom Lee Jung-hoo, who went on base with a hit in the first inning, stepped on second base and greeted Kim Seon-bin, then looked at Yoon Young-cheol on the mound and smiled happily. During the WBC, Lee Jung-hoo made a fastball over 150km into a hit. He was acknowledging the guts of Yoon Young-chul, the baby tiger who threw a 140km fastball at him.
Afterwards, Yoon Young-chul took charge of the mound until the 4th inning. 60 pitches. With 2 hits, 1 walk and 7 strikeouts, he made a good impression on coach Kim Jong-guk. Yoon Young-cheol’s fastballs (32), which recorded a maximum speed of 141 km and an average speed of 138 km, were not fast, but were sharp. He threw changeups (14) and sliders (11) in the right places to make hitters feel faster with fastballs and struck out a lot.
While everyone pays attention only to the fast ball, we support the growth of Yoon Young-chul, a baby tiger who started to play his own baseball with elaborate control.