'Shock' Declares 25-year-old retirement KIA '154km' Fireballer → Will he return to active duty after reversing his full retirement, but the fastball explosion at the U.S. Training Center!

*This content was translated by AI.

The recent situation of Hong Won-bin (26), a fireballer from the KIA Tigers who shocked him when he announced his retirement from active duty at a young age last year, is a hot topic. The Tread Athletic Center, located in the United States, was seen splashing fastballs.

Tread Athletic posted a video of pitchers' pitching on its official social networking service (SNS) channel on the 10th (Korea time).

But there was a Korean player among them, so it was Hong Won-bin. The Tread Athletic Center, located in Charlotte, North Carolina, is a baseball training center famous for raising players' speed. However, he, who had already announced his retirement, appeared here again.

Hong Won-bin took the mound wearing a black footboard T-shirt and black shorts. Wearing a beanie, he took the mound and sprayed fastballs to his heart's content. And he made a clear impression on numerous officials, including Major League Scouts, who visited this place in person.

Hong Won-bin, who graduated from Anmalcho, Gangnam Middle School, and Deoksu High School, joined the KIA Tigers as the 10th overall pick in the first round in the second rookie draft in 2019. The down payment for joining the team is 130 million won. Hong Won-bin, who has an overwhelming physique of 195cm and 101kg, drew great attention as a right-handed fireballer as soon as he joined the team. At an exhibition game in March last year, he threw a fastball with a maximum speed of 154 kilometers. However, the opportunity to play in the first team rarely came to him. In the six years since joining the professional league, he has never made the first team stage. There was some regret on the control side.

Until the 2024 season, he only played 31 games in the Futures League. Until the 2024 season, his Futures League record was 2-15 and his ERA was 12.56. He struck out 44 times in 71 ⅔ innings, but four pitches reached 107 times (92 walks, 15 balls that fit his body).

The first opportunity for him was against the Doosan Bears in Jamsil on June 3 last year. At that time, he made his dream debut in the first division by marking one hit, one walk, one strikeout, and one run (one earned run) in one inning. On June 10, he allowed one hit, three walks and four runs (four earned) in ⅔ innings. But it became the last first team game of his baseball career.

Hong Won-bin, who could no longer take the mound for the first team, finally decided to retire in September last year. At the time, an official from KIA said, "Hong Won-bin himself seems to want to study the professional theory related to sports. Maybe I plan to go abroad and study. The club said they wanted to talk more several times, but they decided to respect the player's own and his parents' will.

Lee Bum-ho, the head coach of Kia, said of his retirement, "I heard he expressed his desire to study sports. I understand that the club has been dissuaded several times. However, he seems to have chosen that way because he is so strong in his will. I think you have to support him, he said. "It's very difficult to give up baseball that you've been playing for a long time and try something else again. Nevertheless, I think it is a great courage to go abroad and study. I'm not a baseball player, but a professor who teaches sports or I can go to that field, so I hope you study well and become a good sportsman."

He is suddenly spraying the ball at the Tread Athletic Center in the United States. In fact, this is not the first time the relationship between Hong Won-bin and the Tread Athletic Center has been established. Last winter, Hong Won-bin visited the Tread Athletic Center and strengthened his pitching form. With an increasing number of baseball players forgetting their age recently, Hong is still in his twenties. Age that won't be weird to come back from retirement anytime. Will Hong Won-bin reverse his retirement and return to the KIA mound.

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*This content was translated by AI.