The presence of KIA Tigers Choi Ji-min (20) has completely changed in just one season. The baby tiger is showing remarkable growth.
Choi Ji-min pitched in relief in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League away game against the LG Twins held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 29th, and made a good pitch with 2 innings, 1 hit, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts and no runs.
KIA faced a crisis of desperation in the second half of the game. In the top of the 7th inning with a lead of 5-0, left-hander Kim Dae-yu took the mound, but Kim Min-seong hit the ball, Park Hae-min hit right handedly, and Hong Chang-ki hit the ball again, and the bases were loaded safely.
KIA’s choice was Choi Ji-min. Choi Ji-min faced the first batter, Moon Seong-joo, and struck out on a swing with a slider. However, after allowing a push walk to Oh Ji-hwan, he dedicated a two-run left-handed hit to Austin Dean.
It was a situation where they were chased by 3-5, but Choi Ji-min did not collapse. He succeeded in leading the shooter by blocking the 40% hitter Kim Hyun-soo with a double hit. On the mound in the 8th inning, Choi Ji-min blocked Moon Bo-kyung with a grounder from first baseman, and Park Dong-won and Kim Min-seong blocked the right fielder with a fly ball and a swing strikeout, respectively.
In the 9th inning, Jang Hyeon-shik performed the closer duty and finished without a run, winning 6-3. Choi Ji-min enjoyed the joy of harvesting his first hold in his debut. He recorded the highest fastball speed of 150 km / h, and the main weapon slider used as the deciding ball was also excellent.
On this day, the KIA finished pitcher Jeong Hae-young, who had been fighting for a long time, and Pil Seung-jo, Jeon Sang-hyun and Lee Jun-young, could not pitch. That’s why Choi Ji-min’s role was so important. 토토사이트
Choi Ji-min, who joined last year with the 5th pick in the 2nd round, only started 6 games in his debut season and had a sluggish ERA of 13.50. He played in his first season with high expectations for his practice game, but he realized the high wall of a professional.
However, in just one year, Choi Ji-min’s position has changed. He got off to a shaky start this season with 2 runs in 3⅔ innings in the first 3 games, but has recently been on a scoreless streak of 6 games in a row. His performance this season was 10 games, 1 hold, 12⅓ innings, and an earned run average of 2.19.
Now, Choi Ji-min has become a pitcher who sorties out of the crisis where the team is leading without a base loaded. The left-handed prospect who will be responsible for the future of the KIA mound has already grown this much.