*This content was translated by AI.
"Oh director, who is this? What's your name?"
Coach Oh Tae-geun (48), the head coach of Hwimungo, recalled the sudden interest he received from KBO scouts at the Seoul Metropolitan Government's long-term high school autumn baseball tournament in November last year.
It was due to Byun Ji-seok (18, Hwimungo), a 194cm tall right-hander who easily throws a ball of 147km/h and 148km even in the chilly weather of 2-3 degrees Celsius. Byun Ji-seok has no official game record based on the Korea Baseball Softball Association (KBSA). However, the smooth connection to the key and the agility of getting the first base cover were worth the attention of the scouts.
Overwhelming physical conditions were the biggest reason. Byun's mother is Cho Soon-young (51), a former coach who led the Korean national swimming team until the 2024 Paris Paralympics. His father was also a judo player until college, so he deserves to be called a family of sportsmen.
A KBO scout recently spoke to Star News on the phone, saying, "Hwimungo Byun Ji-seok is also attracting attention. First of all, my physical condition is really good. He is over 190cm tall, but his body is very flexible. "I think I can throw more than 150 kilometers per hour next year because my arm is long," he said.
He said, "I am still inexperienced in overall game management, control, and ball change. But we have to look at the possibilities. I wonder how this player will grow if he receives a little more systematic training," he said.
Despite his excellent physical conditions, there was a reason why he made his name known only at the end of his second year. Manager Oh Tae-geun said, "(Byeon) Ji-seok started baseball late. The pitcher himself was late. "I started pitching almost at the end of my junior year, so my ball control is shaking a lot," he recalled. "But I got a lot of calls from scouts because I suddenly threw 148 kilometers per hour at the last autumn tournament."
He continued, "I came to school a lot to see it in person. Some said that scouts also have a really good body, and in a few years in the professional league, they will just throw 155km/h. It may not be good to use right now, but from the point of view of professional scouts, he added, "He will be a player I look forward to in the future."
There was a reason for the late start. Byun played baseball as a hobby when he was in sixth grade in elementary school, but he quit after four months. However, baseball became inevitable as the height, which started at 168 centimeters, increased to 182 centimeters ahead of entering middle school. With rapid growth, his mother, former coach Cho Soon-young, has also put down the baton for a while after the 2024 Paris Paralympics.
He also suffered from a rapidly grown body. Byun Ji-seok said, "My arms were a little bad during winter training in the first grade. There was no pain, but the balance was not right. "I focused on training to keep balance, and at some point, I got caught, and my speed started to go up," he explained. "As I started late, I had a lot of worries and concerns. He also worked hard to manage his weight because he is a person who easily gains weight. I thought it would be easier to move when my body was light, and I think it has changed since I gave up my worries and emptied my head. I'm so glad that I was able to balance it at the end," he said with a smile.
Videos of Shohei Ohtani (32, LA Dodgers) and Moon Dong-joo (23, Hanwha Eagles) helped him greatly to balance his tall height. Byun Ji-seok said, "I think Otani has really solid basic skills, so he learned a lot from his lower body movements. I refer to soft movements a lot from Moon Dong-ju," he said. He said, "This year, I'm going to empty my head and do only what I'm doing without thinking too deeply. We need to increase the strike rate and increase the ability to manage the game," he stressed.
Naturally, I came to watch a lot of Hanwha games. Byun Ji-seok said, "I don't really watch baseball, but Hanwha pitchers and the team looked really good last year," adding, "When I go professional, I really want to face Kang Baek-ho as a pitcher." I've watched a lot of videos since I was young, but I really want to compete. He also said, "I will throw a speed limit of 153 kilometers this year."
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*This content was translated by AI.
