"Already 149km bam." Samsung 1R rookie's bold challenge "I'll try double-digit hold."" [Onnason site]

*This content was translated by AI.

Lee Ho-beom (19), a rookie in the first round of the Samsung Lions, boldly aimed for a double-digit hold in his first year of debut like senior Bae Chan-seung (20).

Lee Ho-beom met with reporters at the 2026 Samsung Spring Camp held at Onnason Akama Stadium in Okinawa, Japan on the 19th and said, "I'm throwing a little more comfortable than in Guam. "I think I'm in good condition and my body has warmed up well," he said.

Lee Ho-beom, who graduated from Namjeong Elementary School, Sungnam Middle School, and Seoul High School, was nominated by Samsung as the ninth overall in the first round of the 2026 KBO Rookie Draft. With a fast ball of up to 153km/h as the main weapon, he made a one-two punch with Park Ji-sung (19), leading Seoul High School to win the E-Mart Cup.

As the only rookie in this spring camp with Jang Chan-hee (19), he sweated hard to adjust his physical strength and balance to play full time. Lee Ho-beom has played a total of six bullpen pitching and one live pitching since Guam. According to a Samsung official, the maximum speed has already reached 149 kilometers per hour, boasting good condition.

Nevertheless, there is no satisfaction. On this day, Lee Ho-beom was seen listening to the advice of Samsung's first-team pitching coach Choi Il-eon and senior Lee Seung-hyun (24). Lee Ho-beom said, "Coming to the spring camp, the brothers' balls are good, and I feel like I need to do better. Coach Choi Il-eon said to me, "The ball is good, so I need to sharpen my balance more."

Recently, Lee Ho-beom is working on a third pitch splitter. This is to increase the power of the main weapon fastball and slider by expanding the options. Lee Ho-beom said, "Sliders are good, but I thought it would be difficult to pitch in a professional game. So, we are trying to polish the splitter, the third pitch type, so that it can be used as a winning shot," he said.

If the splitter is successfully fitted with a winning shot, Samsung will get another fastball starter. However, the right-hander declined to comment on the hasty prediction. Right now, the goal is to follow the path shown by Bae Chan-seung, a one-year senior, last year. Bae Chan-seung, a rookie in the first round last year, led Samsung to advance to fall baseball by marking 65 games with 2 wins, 3 losses, 19 holds, an ERA of 3.91 and 57 strikeouts in 50 ⅔ innings.

Lee Ho-beom said, "(Bae) Chan-seung is so good, so I'm going to watch a lot and learn. He smiled and said, "He takes good care of me with (Yuk) Sun-yeop at the camp." He said, "I'm trying to do it one by one without setting a big goal. I have a desire to start in the long run, but I want to do well in the bullpen this year. First of all, I want to enter the opening entry and survive to the end of the first team, and I really want to try double-digit holds," he said.

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*This content was translated by AI.