He stands tall as a fireman in the national team...Park Young-hyun said, "I want to compete with MLB hitters on the WBC."
He stands tall as a fireman in the national team...Park Young-hyun said, "I want to compete with MLB hitters on the WBC."
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Park Young-hyun (KT Wiz), who experienced the Hangzhou Asian Games and the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier 12, had a bigger dream.
His dream is to face the world's best hitters at the World Baseball Classic (WBC), where MLB players will also participate.
Park Young-hyun, who returned home on the 19th after Premier 12, said, "I would be grateful if I had the opportunity to play in international competitions in the future. I don't know what will happen, but I think if I do my best, I will be given the opportunity to play in the 2026 WBC," adding, "I have a desire to compete with world-class batters on such a big stage."
Korea ranked third in Group B with three wins and two losses in the Premier 12 group league, failing to secure a ticket to advance to the Super Round (semi-finals), which is given to the top two teams in each group. It was regrettable that Korea lost to Taiwan and Japan 3-6, respectively, its "enemies."
South Korea, which became the first champion in 2015 and finished second in the second tournament in 2019, lost face as it failed to reach the semifinals.
Despite the disappointing performance, however, he also had a glimpse of hope. In pitching and hitting, Park Young-hyun and Kim Do-young (KIA Tigers) confirmed their international competitiveness.
Park pitched in three games and allowed no runs in three ⅔ innings. While he had two hits, he pitched powerful pitches, allowing six strikeouts. He had no walks or throws.
Leading closers such as Jung Hae-young (KIA Tigers), Kim Taek-yeon (Doosan), Yoo Young-chan (LG), and Cho Byung-hyun (SSG) joined the national team, but Park Young-hyun defended Ryu Joong-il's back door boasting the best ball power.
Park Young-hyun, who scored five scoreless innings in four games at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year when he was first selected for the senior national team, also stood out in this tournament and solidified his position as a future national team firefighter.
Park Young-hyun said, "I didn't think it was much different from last year's Asian Games, but I was very nervous because it was a bigger tournament. I wanted to win a lot, but I'm sad that the result came out of the group stage," adding, "I want to come back with better results next time I go to an international competition."
While expressing regret, Park said, "My condition was better than that of the season, and I threw confidently. I think batters did a good job because the speed of rotation per minute was also good," adding, "I am proud that I threw well in the international arena."
Park Young-hyun's nickname "the second Oh Seung-hwan" was highlighted by spraying a heavy fastball over 150 kilometers per hour at 2,500 rpm (rotations per minute).
"I like the fact that I'm compared to my role model. I feel like I'm getting closer to (Oh) Seung-hwan," Park said. "I want to create 'Park Young-hyun' now. I want to become a role model to younger players by gaining more experience and improving my skills."
Choi Il-eon, the pitching coach of the Korean national team, gave compliments to Park Young-hyun after the competition ended. In particular, Choi gave high marks to players who thoroughly train individually.
Park Young-hyun smiled, saying, "You didn't say that, but you acknowledge what I'm doing. Individual training is done a lot by my team, and I was proud that Coach Choi liked it."
Having experienced two international competitions, Park now dreams of striking out a major leaguer in the WBC. The next WBC will be held in March 2026.
Park once faced the Big Leaguer in a friendly match ahead of the MLB Seoul Series in March this year. At the time, he donated a home run to Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Chris Taylor. 안전놀이터
Park Young-hyun said, "In the Seoul Series, it was before the opening of the season, so it was before my condition improved. As I threw without my body fully built, I got a disappointing result," adding, "If I have a chance later, my goal is to strike out hitters who play in the MLB."
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