"It was hard to get a practice game in the past."" NC's sincerity changed the baseball wasteland in 15 years! How was Ahn Hyunmin and Jang Hyunseok born

*This content was translated by AI.

"In the past, it was difficult to get a practice game for schools in Masan (hereinafter, unified to Changwon). It's different from now."

This is a different feeling from an Ama baseball official in Gyeongnam.

This is because the skills of high schools in Changwon in the past were very different from those of other regions. There were long-standing Masan High School and Masan Yongma High School, but 15 years ago, when the NC Dinos were founded, the production of top prospects in the third round was in a drought.

The reason was the severe outflow of local talent. At that time, basketball was popular with local children due to the presence of LG Sakers, which was first established in Changwon. However, the number of baseball players was often deprived of players from the middle school level due to relatively poor infrastructure compared to the surrounding metropolitan cities.

The vicious cycle began to change little by little in 2011 when the NC Dinos turned to Changwon as the ninth KBO club. NC is the No. 1 contributor to Changwon, which has slowly become a baseball wasteland due to its rapid migration to Ichon, Amar baseball officials say. NC, whose headquarters are located in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do, began promoting baseball to Changwon, which had no connection since 2011.

Events for fans visiting Changwon NC Park and local-related donations and volunteer activities were basic. It promoted the advancement of local high schools to the national championship finals as if it were the club's job, and held a little baseball tournament to hold a festival unique to Changwon. As a result, four high school teams were established near Changwon after NC was founded, including Changwon Technical High School (2021), Miryang BC (2022, Miryang, Gyeongnam), Geoje BC (2022, Geoje, Gyeongnam), and Geumnam High School (2023, Hadong, Gyeongnam), and the number of elementary and middle school baseball teams increased significantly.

As accessibility has improved, the proportion of children in Changwon also choosing baseball has increased. In addition, he entered the fall baseball in his second year of entering the first team with innovative team colors advocated as data baseball, and quickly settled in the relevant area by winning the first Korean Series in 2016 and the first integrated championship in 2020.

The infrastructure that NC has quietly grown for a long time has led to the development of Korean baseball. Masan High School, a prestigious local high school, gradually established the foundation of the prestigious school after Ko Yoon-sung's appointment in 2018, and gave Masan Baseball its first national championship trophy by winning the association's long-term title (currently E-Mart Bae) in 2021. Recently, a huge prospect named Ahn Hyun-min (23, KT Wiz) has emerged to represent the Korean baseball league.

Another prestigious Masan Yongma High School in the region has also become a pride of the region by steadily advancing to the semifinals of the national competition since the 2020s after Jin Min-soo's appointment. Now, the Changwon area is being transformed into an octo that should be carefully examined, not a place where KBO scouts also pass once. From the 2023 KBO Rookie Draft, when the first nomination system was abolished, top round players such as Kim Joo-oh (1R Doosan in 2026), Cha Seung-joon (3R, Samsung, Masan Yongmago in 2025), Choi Joo-hyung (2R, Doosan in 2026) and Shin Yong-seok (3R, NC in 2023) began to appear.

Finally, in 2023, Masan Yongma High School Jang Hyun-seok was chosen by the LA Dodgers, the most prestigious professional baseball team in the U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB). KBO scouts' interest in prospects in Changwon is currently ongoing this year. "152km left-hander" Lee Yoon-sung (18), "154km right-hander" Kim Kyung-rok (18, Masan High School), right-hander Lee Yoon-sang (19), shortstop Noh Min-hyuk (18) and third baseman Choi Min-sang (18, Masan Yongmago) are classified as 2027 KBO rookie draft candidates.

In a phone call with Star News on January 31, Masan Yongma High School coach Jin Min-soo said, "The creation of a professional club called NC in the Changwon area was big. Even now, there are hoodies and batting balls that are sponsored every year (the first nomination system has disappeared). However, I think having NC has a greater intangible effect than material support," he said with strength.

"Before the NC was founded, there were few baseball players in elementary and middle schools in the region. Therefore, the players who were there also went to Busan and Daegu to study baseball, and it was difficult to supply and demand players. However, with the creation of NC and the increase in baseball infrastructure, we can also choose jade stones," he added.

Although the first nomination has now been abolished, joining NC has become an area of luck for outstanding local prospects. However, it is said that NC's presence is gradually increasing for baseball players in Changwon. In the past, if using Changwon-area players to play ball boys in home games led by NC clubs has been effective, frequent visits by NC players are leading in a positive direction these days.

Schools close to NC Stadium have naturally become a venue for exchange due to players' special military service activities and winter training. In the case of Kim Joo-won (24), the next-generation franchise star, he became an idol of high school players as not only his alma mater, Suwon Yushin High School, but also schools in Changwon took care of him from time to time.

Club-level efforts toward Changwon, the hometown, are still ongoing 15 years later. Every year, the Dream Bowl project is being implemented to support practice balls to middle and high school teams and women's baseball teams in the relevant region. Not long ago, the club expressed condolences on the news of the obituary of the late Kim Sung-gil, who laid the foundation for Masan baseball.

The local Little Baseball Team's 'Joint Graduation Ceremony', which has entered its third year, is also receiving positive response. Players and parents of the Little Baseball Team invited to Changwon NC Park during the season will be given the opportunity to watch NC games in person and step on the professional stage ground. Graduation certificates and commemorative gifts delivered directly by NC players make us dream of future baseball players.

From 2023, we are delivering hooded T-shirts with NC Dinos to local schools. Not long ago, in the fourth round, it was expanded to 19 schools and 748 clothes, raising pride in NC, his hometown team. Choi Min-sang, the captain of Masan Yongma High School this year, said, "I always wear the hoodie delivered by the NC club when training or moving. Whenever I envy other local team players knowing that they are clothes supported by NC, I feel great pride in our connection," he said.

The growth and development of Changwon baseball was also rewarding and proud of the NC team. "We are also very proud of the recent news that local baseball players are doing well," said an NC team official who was contacted, adding, "We tried to instill pride in young players, but we are also happy that good prospects are coming out." He said, "Changwon is a place with a really deep baseball history. Our club will do its best to continue and develop interest in local baseball regardless of the first nomination," he stressed.

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*This content was translated by AI.