Professional baseball KT right-hander pitcher Park Young-hyeon (20, photo) graduated from Yushin High School last year and entered the 먹튀검증 professional stage after receiving the first nomination. As soon as he made his debut with his fastball exceeding 150 km/h as his main weapon, he was given the role of a pursuit team in the first team, and appeared in 52 games and played 51.2 innings, recording 1 loss and 2 holds with an average ERA of 3.66, proving his potential.
In the 2023 season, his growth is even steeper. He served as the setup man responsible for the 8th inning and pitched in 56 games until the 22nd, throwing 59.2 innings, recording 3 wins, 3 losses, 3 saves and 26 holds with an earned run average of 3.02. In the hold category, he is running ahead of the runner-up group of Seung-min Koo (Lotte) and Kyung-eun Roh (SSG, 19 holds) by 7 points.
The true value of Park Young-hyun also shone in the Suwon KIA match on the 22nd. Park Young-hyun, who climbed the mound in the 8th inning with KT leading 6-4, added a hold by easily cooking Choi Hyung-woo (strikeout), Socrates (floating ball), and Lee Woo-seong (strikeout). Park Young-hyeon took the mound in 11 games in August alone and added 8 holds. Park Young-hyun played a large role in more than half of KT’s 15 wins (3 losses) in August until the 22nd.
For KT, I am extremely grateful that Park Young-hyun has grown into a ‘trustworthy man’. This is because Kim Min-soo, who recorded 5 wins, 4 losses, 3 saves and 30 holds last year, left due to an injury at the beginning of the season. Kim Min-soo returned at the end of May, but could not show the same pitch as last year, and on the 23rd of last month, he went down to the second team after starting the match against Samsung, and suffered an ankle fracture while taking classes to change his job as a starting pitcher, and was out for the season. Right-handed bullpen agent Park Si-young was also out of the season due to right elbow pain. This means that there is no substitute for Park Young-hyun.
In order for KT to achieve the great feat of winning the Korean Series in fall baseball, it became essential for Park Young-hyun to show his current appearance until the end of the season.
There are variables in Park Young-hyeon’s win as the Hold King. This is because Park Young-hyun will also participate as a national representative in the Asian Games in Hangzhou in September. Park Young-hyun said, “I didn’t have any thoughts about the title, but now I’m a bit greedy. I will aim for the title by building as many holds as possible before joining the national team.”