“The appearance before and after the military service has definitely changed.”
In 2019, KIA Tigers’ first-choice prospect Kim Ki-hoon spent most of this year as a member of the Armed Forces Sports Unit (Sangmu). He appeared as a starting pitcher in all 16 Futures League games, and had a remarkable record of 6 wins and 2 losses with an earned run average of 2.95.
Kim Ki-hoon returned to his team after completing his military service in the Armed Forces Sports Unit (Sangmu) in September. He joined at the end of the season and did not make many appearances, but left a strong impact in the first team stage.
Kim Ki-hoon played as a relief pitcher in all 5 games and pitched 8⅔innings, 4 hits, 9 strikeouts and 1 run. He showed off salty water pitching with an ERA of 1.04, and his batting average was only 0.138.
The days of managing director were a turning point for Kim Ki-hoon. He said, “I prepared and practiced a lot in the army. I threw it with the mindset of ‘Let’s make all the things I prepared come out on the mound for the first team.’ lost,” he said.
What specific areas have been improved? Kim Ki-hoon said, “The throwing mechanism has changed a lot. During the military service, there was an urgent aspect when throwing, and the rhythm was broken and I threw quickly. I had to fix that part, but I modified the pitching form to become the current pitching form. I need to watch the video of the pitching form and improve it. I studied a lot of things to do. I identified the commonalities of pitchers who throw well, and I thought I should change it compared to my pitching form.”
This year, Kim Ki-hoon gave up 31 walks in 85⅓ innings in the Futures League, supplementing his control, which was considered a weakness. Although he contributed seven walks in 8⅔ innings pitched in the first-team stage, the sample was not a large record.
Kim Ki-hoon said, “When I was a rookie, I gave up a lot of walks, so I was stressed. When I thought about it in the military, it seemed that if I threw with care about walks, I gave more. I didn’t care about walks, but only thought of balance, so it seemed to have decreased compared to before. I don’t think about it,” he explained.
He said, “When I was a rookie, I had a strong idea that I had to be in the first team, so when I gave a walk, I became depressed. I thought that I shouldn’t give a walk. I thought about it and prepared a lot,” he added. 토토사이트
Kim Ki-hoon is one of the most anticipated pitchers on the KIA mound next season. He can be used both as a starter and in the bullpen, and as a left-handed player, he can hit a fastball of 150km/h.
Kim Ki-hoon, who recalled the next season, said, “I try to make up my mind to do well only what I prepared for when I go up on the mound in any position. My goal is to play full-time in the 1st team without getting hurt. It is important to take care of my body because I can play full-time only when I am not sick.”