"Oh? We're wearing matching shoes." Huh Kyung-min said, "Daring" junior who is 14 years old, and "New Team" solved the awkwardness
"Oh? We're wearing matching shoes." Huh Kyung-min said, "Daring" junior who is 14 years old, and "New Team" solved the awkwardness
Blog Article
Veteran infielder Huh Kyung-min (35) who left Jamsil for the first time in 16 years is quickly adapting to KT Wiz, his new home. It is somewhat surprising that Won Sang-hyun (21), a 14-year-old junior, was included among those who help him adapt quickly.
Huh Kyung-min, whom I met at Suwon KT Wiz Park on Sunday, said, "I have a lot of players I've known at KT as well because I have a lot of experience. I'm trying to get to know more players quickly even though I haven't talked to them," citing Won Sang-hyun as a junior whom I got to know.
Won Sang-hyun is a right-handed pitcher who joined KT as the seventh-ranked player in the first round of the 2024 KBO Rookie Draft after graduating from Gasan Elementary School (Busan Jingu Little), Gaesung Middle School, and Busan High School. Born and raised in Busan, the rookie who only saw him on the ground a few times at most was unlikely to have a point of contact with Heo Kyung-min. However, Heo said, "I often DM on Instagram. Sang-hyun is so good at it. He is such a cute junior."메이저사이트
It was the KT Fan Festival that took place after the end of last season. Huh Kyung-min transferred from Doosan Bears to KT on Nov. 8 last year in a four-year free agent contract worth 4 billion won (approx. It was 16 years since he was named seventh in the second round of the 2009 KBO Rookie Draft.
As such, the fan festival event in front of KT fans for the first time in 15 days after moving to the team was awkward for him. Starting with Won Sang-hyun's bold words, the veteran's nervousness slowly eased. "Sang-hyun (Won) was a junior who had a very good first impression. Sang-hyun was sitting next to me at the festival, and I was so nervous that he told me this and that first. I was really grateful for that heart," Huh said with a smile.
What would he have said? Won Sang-hyun, whom I met soon after, said, "He was sitting next to me, and I suddenly saw that his shoes were the same as mine. I thought, 'Oh? You and I are wearing the same shoes as each other.' "Actually, I also play pranks when I get close to each other, but I am very timid and can't talk to people I don't know. But I was like that then," he recalled two months ago.
Since then, the two have quickly become close. Wonsang was able to ask baseball questions to an experienced senior player a little more comfortably, and Heo learned more about KT quickly. After spending his time with young pitchers such as Lee Byung-hun (22) during the Doosan Bears period, he quickly acquired a younger teammate.
Heo Kyung-min said, "If you are older, it would be difficult to tell your senior first, but Sang-hyun approaches you first, saying, 'How is your contribution?' On the other hand, I ask a lot about KT and answer it kindly. It's kind of cute to see Sang-hyun do it."
Heo Kyung-min's efforts to adapt quickly to the new team KT do not end there. He started preparing for the 2025 season as soon as he signed the contract in November, and is currently engaged in technical training at his home stadium. I want to continue my good performance at KT as well. Heo posted a batting average of 0.39 in 115 games last year, seven homers, 61 RBIs, 69 runs and five steals, and a on-base percentage of 0.384 slugging percentage of 0.427. He also received the KBO's defense award for the second consecutive year.
"I was so bad in 2023 that I tried my best to do my best. I took individual lessons before the season and received help from many coaches during the season," Huh said. "I want to maintain my skills when I was in good times. When I say 'Huh Kyung-min,' I want to be remembered as a player who constantly produces results. That's why my goal is to show consistent results until the end of my contract period rather than achieve ridiculous results."
Efforts are made even outside the ground. Heo Kyung-min is obsessed with YouTube these days. I learned a lot from it. "I've been watching a lot of KT games on YouTube to get used to it quickly. I'm watching what the atmosphere was like in the dugout and what kind of games they've played," Heo said. "I thought it was cool when I saw a packed Suwon baseball stadium during last year's ranking fight or during the fall baseball season, but it was impressive to see many people coming as a family."
He knows how attractive he is because he has faced off in fall baseball. "I saw KT from the outside, and it was a team that showed no signs of weakness," Huh said. "There are star players like Kang Baek-ho and Rojas, but other batters were above average, which made it difficult to play all the time. Not to mention starting pitchers, the back door was also too tricky, so the mound was also a strong team. You can tell by just looking at his performance in the second half of last year. With 10 losing margins in the first half of the year being negative, KT is certainly a powerful team that can reach the fall baseball league."
"At the fan festival, the fans asked me to do well at KT. I'm also going to do my best and I want to make sure that I can hear 'Huh Kyung-min came well,'" he said. "I'm starting baseball at a new team, a new home stadium, and I'm preparing for it with a strong mindset, so please give me a lot of support. I will become a player who can approach the fans more."