Kim Tae-hyun, the future of the Lotte Giants mound, made his first official greeting in front of his home fans in Busan. He promised to make unforgettable memories with his colleagues and do his best to prepare for his professional debut season next year.안전놀이터
Lotte hosted the “ROOKIE Day” event in Game 15 between the NC Dinos’ 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League teams at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 27th. On the 11th, it invited 10 players nominated by the KBO 2025 Rookie Draft.
The player who received the most attention was left-hander Kim Tae-hyun of Gwangju Jeil High School. Kim Tae-hyun was chosen by Lotte in the first round and the fourth overall, and achieved his dream of becoming a professional player. Lotte did not hide its expectations by paying a down payment of 300 million won.
On the day, Kim took the mound as the starting pitcher on behalf of the rookie players. He vigorously distributed the ball to his senior teammates Cho In-geun, took off his hat and greeted Lotte home fans politely. Lotte fans welcomed him with a big round of applause and cheers.
“This is my second visit to a baseball stadium. I came here for a medical examination after being nominated as a pro, but I’m even more nervous today because it’s my first time to greet my fans,” Kim said. “I was so nervous that I couldn’t eat well when I woke up in the morning.”
Kim Tae-hyun, born in 2005, is a left-handed orthodox pitcher who measures 185 centimeters tall and weighs 87 kilograms. When he was a junior in high school, he recorded special performances of six wins and two losses in 54 ⅔ innings, 1.47 ERA, 88 strikeouts and 0.75 WHIP per inning in 17 games.
Shortly after Kim Tae-hyun was nominated, Lotte General Manager Park Joon-hyuk explained, “I thought he had a good direct movement and could play enough as a starting pitcher for Lotte such as curve angle, speed change, and deception. Now that the ratio of left-handed hitters to right-handed hitters is 1:1, I think the left-handed pitcher’s evaluation will be higher.”
On the day of the rookie draft, Kim was participating at the 5th U-23 (under 23) World Baseball Championship held in Xiaoxing, China. Before joining the pro league, he returned with valuable experience with his peers and seniors.
“After playing with seniors who are already playing professionally in the U-23 tournament, I felt it was definitely different from high school baseball,” Kim Tae-hyun said. “I learned a lot and came back. I heard that I will join Lotte and participate in the educational league after the National Sports Festival next month, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Kim Tae-hyun’s primary goal is to stay in the first division for as long as possible next season and take the mound in as many games. In particular, SSG Landers Choi Jung, KIA Tigers Choi Hyung-woo and NC Dinos Son Ah-seop made no secret of their desire to play against the living legends of the KBO League.
“If I have a chance, I would like to face Choi Jung, Choi Hyung-woo, and Son Ah-seop,” Kim Tae-hyun said. “I imagined playing against seniors, but I will prepare well for my debut season because I have a chance only when I go to the mound of the first team.”
“I want to become Lotte’s flagship player. I think he has the ball power that can be recognized as a professional player. I believe that if we supplement our breaking balls and ball control, we will be able to produce good results,” he said.
Kim also looked excited when he got to wear the same uniform as Kim Won-joong, a senior and Lotte’s guardian deity. Kim Won-joong, born in 1993, is 12 years older than Kim. He is a native of Gwangju who spent his entire elementary, middle and high school years in Gwangju.
“I’m not from the same school as Kim Won-joong, but I wanted to work out with him because he’s from Gwangju and he’s the same pitcher,” Kim Tae-hyun said. “Park Se-woong also has a lot of things he wants to learn. I’m trying to learn a lot while working hard.”