“I was surprised that I passed it by force.”
Roh Si-hwan (23, Hanwha), who finished the first half with a tie for first place in home runs (19) and emerged as the KBO league’s representative right-handed giant, also admired this player’s power. LG rookie catcher Kim Beom-seok (19) was deeply impressed by the home run he hit in the Futures All-Star Game.바카라
Noh Si-hwan met with reporters prior to the All-Star Game held at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 15th, and when the story of Kim Bum-seok came out, he said, “I am a junior in high school, so I am proud. He went to a good school and seems to be good at baseball,” he laughed. The two players are 4 years senior and junior from Gyeongnam Middle School and Gyeongnam High School.
Kim Bum-seok started as the designated hitter for the northern team in the Futures All-Star Game on the 14th, and played an active part with 2 hits, 4 RBIs and 1 run in 4 at-bats including a home run. He led the team to a 9-7 victory and even won MVP. In particular, in the 5th inning, NC right-hander Han Jae-seung hit a 143km/h fastball on the 5th pitch with 2nd out, 1st and 2nd base, and hit a three-run home run that went over the wall in the middle left. It was measured at a distance of 128m and an exit speed of 170km based on Trackman.
Catcher Kim Beom-seok, who is 178 cm tall and weighs 95 kg, hit 10 homers in 25 high school baseball games last year. The record for most home runs in a single year in high school baseball since 2004, when wooden bats were introduced. In recognition of his long hitting power, he was nominated by LG in the 7th overall ranking in the first round of this year. In the 2nd Division Futures League, he is showing his batting talent with a batting average of .306 (48 hits in 157 at-bats), 6 homers, 27 RBIs, and an OPS of .868 in 47 games.
Noh Si-hwan said, “Beom-seok has great strength. I was surprised that he passed the home run yesterday by force. I think that Uta geopo could come out again in Korea,” he said. I hope that there will be a lot of Uta Geopo at Gyeongnam High School.”
As right-handed and left-handed hitters dominate from amateurs, concerns are growing that the lineage of right-handed hitters is being cut off in the KBO League. Right-handed hitters are increasingly entering the left-handed batter’s box to become left-handed hitters with short runs to first base and an advantage against a large number of right-handed pitchers. It has become an environment where it is increasingly difficult to see Uta Geopo.
After Kim Ha-seong (San Diego), who recorded 30 home runs in 2020, advanced to the US major leagues the following year, there were no right-handed hitters in their 20s who exceeded 20 home runs in the KBO League for two years. In 2021, 21-year-old Roh Si-hwan had 18 home runs, 2022 23-year-old Han Dong-hee (Lotte), and 26-year-old Hwang Dae-in (KIA) had 14 homers, the most home runs among right-handed hitters in their 20s. However, Roh Si-hwan, who tied for first place with Choi Jeong (SSG) with 19 homers in the first half of this season alone, is about to be born as a right-handed hitter in his 20s and 20th in three years.
Since childhood, Noh Si-hwan has walked the path of right-handed hitting without attempting left-handed hitting. He said, “If you look at the players who switched to left-handed batting, most of them have quick feet. These are players who can get a lot of infield hits. Among his peers, there are many players who switched to left-handed batting. Jeonuisan (SSG) is also like that,” he said.