“Living up to his name tag as the nephew of Korea’s best pitcher.”
The Kiwoom Heroes, coached by Hong Won-ki, have a whopping 14 rookies in the 2023 KBO Rookie Draft, which took place on Thursday, having traded their draft picks in a previous trade. They acquired the LG Twins’ first-round pick, the KIA Tigers’ second-round pick, and the Samsung Lions’ third-round pick.
They got the eighth-ranked Seoul High pitcher Jeon Jun-pyo and ninth-ranked Jang Chung-go pitcher Kim Yoon-ha in the first round, the sixth-ranked Seongnam High infielder Lee Jae-sang in the second round, the ninth-ranked Jeon Ju-ju pitcher Son Hyun-ki, the fourth-ranked Bibongo pitcher Lee Woo-hyun in the third round, and the ninth-ranked Se AD pitcher Kim Yeon-ju in the fourth round.
Other selections include fourth-round infielder Ko Young-woo from Sungkyunkwan University, fifth-round pitcher Kim Joo-hoon from Dongwon University of Science and Technology, sixth-round infielder Song Jin-hyung from Gwangju First High, seventh-round catcher Kim Ji-sung from Yulgok High, eighth-round outfielder Park Chae-wool from Chungam High, ninth-round pitcher Park Bum-joon from Daejeon High, 10th-round pitcher Park Seung-ho from Gunsan Sangil High, and 11th-round infielder Shim Hwi-woon from Yeobu High.
The most notable player is Kim Yoon. He is famously the nephew of “Korean Superstar” Park Chan-ho. He is a hard-throwing pitcher with an athletic build of 188 centimeters and 90 kilograms. His offspeed pitches such as splitter and slider are also good, and he has a good strikeout-to-walk ratio. In 13 games this year, he went 3-1 with a 2.75 ERA in 39.1 innings pitched with 51 strikeouts and 16 walks.
Kim Yoon-ha said, “I was very worried about being selected in the first round, but I’m grateful to Kiwoom for selecting me. I am most grateful to my parents for leading me to this point,” said Kim.
“I think I’ve been able to come this far because the manager and coaches who have guided me so far have built me up from the basics. I am very grateful to them. I will always be a player who works harder so that I can live up to the expectations of the fans.”
He didn’t hear from Park before the draft started. Now, as Kim Yoon-ha, a baseball player and not Park Chan-ho’s nephew, he showed his determination to do his best.
“I didn’t hear from him before the draft started. I didn’t see my uncle very often because he was very busy, but he would give me good advice whenever he had the chance,” he said, adding, “I will try to be more careful in my behavior and work harder to live up to the name tag of being the nephew of the best pitcher in Korea.”
Park Chan-ho also congratulated his nephew, Kim Yun-ha, on his nomination. His best friend Hong Won-ki is also the head coach of Kiwoom. It’s an added bonus. 바카라사이트
Park Chan-ho wrote on his personal social media, “Congratulations. Kim Yoon-ha’s nephew. It seems like it’s only been a few days since you started playing baseball, but you’ve already become a professional baseball player. Your mother followed you so passionately and made it right. Mom’s strength,” he congratulated.
He added, “There’s a lot of pressure to be the first pick of a professional team. He’s got a great coach, so I think he’s going to grow into an even better player, a son raised by his mom. I hope that the process of growth will always be accompanied by example, hard work, toughness, responsibility, passion, and constant challenges. By the way, you’re going to have an even bigger player in a few years, so stay tuned, and look who’s brother he is,” he said excitedly.