"I should at least do some body parts."" First time for a full-time first baseman! A 38-year-old veteran tries so hard, but his juniors can't follow him

*This content was translated by AI.

"I should at least do some body parts!"

Kim Hyun-soo (38, KT Wiz), a 21-year professional veteran, showed extraordinary determination to challenge for his first full-time first baseman.

Kim Hyun-soo recently said at the 2026 KT Spring Camp held at Kushikawa Baseball Stadium in Uruma, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, "I haven't seen the first base at all, but I'm not uncomfortable. "However, I usually played in the outfield and sometimes helped the first base, but it was the first time I've seen only the first baseman since camp, so I felt there was more to be sure," he said honestly.

This year, KT started a major reorganization of its squad by replacing all foreign players and investing 10.8 billion won in recruiting external FA. Among them, Sam Hilliard (32), who signed a one-million-dollar contract with Kim Hyun-soo, who signed a three-year, five-billion-won full guarantee FA contract, is considered the key.

Hilliard was a player with strong shoulders and a sense of defense in the U.S. Major League Baseball. Initially, KT aimed to maximize its offense by fixing Hilliard to first base rather than center fielder who has a burden on defense. However, since he has hardly defended first base since his college days, Kim Hyun-soo was eventually confirmed to be fixed at the Australian spring camp.

As he said, Kim Hyun-soo has never played first base professionally. Since the days of the Doosan Bears in 2013, he has often come out and recorded the most first-base defensive innings, with only 452 ⅓ in the first year of his transfer to LG in 2018.

Kim Hyun-soo said, "For sure, I thought this is why infielders are losing their stamina quickly. "Even though I'm at first base, I felt it would be this hard for other infielders," he said, expressing his determination, "There are many players in our infield who are good at defense, but I'm trying hard to make the atmosphere weird if I don't do it."

The player himself quietly burned his will, but he was actually nervous about the head coach. KT manager Lee Kang-chul said, "I use Kim Hyun-soo as the first base. It's been a long time since Hilliard saw first base, so his posture didn't come out. Still, I said I'd try Hilliard at first base during the camp because I liked to take one option later, but I think I'll have to go to left field in the regular season."

"(Kim) Hyun-soo is said to have sent him out once in a while without any defensive training at LG." It can happen if you don't practice, but if you practice at the camp, you can do it enough. He's actually doing well right now. How many balls will go left and right. You only need to catch the ball that Hyun-soo can catch. Even if you do that, the team will work," he stressed.

If Kim Hyun-soo successfully takes the first base, the outfield will have a solid defensive lineup with left fielder Hilliard, center fielder Choi Won-joon and right fielder Ahn Hyun-min without any special traffic arrangement. The coach is proud of the veteran's behavior that leads the mind for the team. The 38-year-old veteran of the national team also tries so hard, but his juniors cannot help but follow him.

Manager Lee Kang-chul said, "I know why you use Kim Hyun-soo. When I see him practicing, he's a really good player. If you said you knew why it was Kim Hyun-soo, it would be over. That's how well it melted into the team and the juniors follow it well. I think it will help our team a lot because we are really sincere and good."

I could feel the effect indirectly in Kim Hyun-soo's words that followed by expressing the burden of defending the first base. Kim Hyun-soo said, "Honestly, it is true that there is a burden on the batting during the training. But I'm practicing blocking it with my body. The coach also says so, but the player should not be that satisfied. "It's basic to hold it well, and I'm going to do body bread," he said with a hearty laugh.

"Pogu still doesn't think I'm falling. If the throw is not too high, you can catch it to some extent. I'm trying to make the players who threw comfortable because it's convenient for me to receive well, he said. "The problem is the ball that flies to me." I'm going to practice a lot and trying to adapt more," he said with strength.

In the practice game, which began in earnest in March, he seems to have already recovered his composure. Following a series of hits, infielders are feeling stable in defense. Rookie shortstop Lee Kang-min (19) said, "When Kim Hyun-soo is standing at first base, throwing is stable. First of all, it's easier to catch a target and it's good for throwing. "I can play more comfortably because the first baseman believes in me," he said.

Kim Hyun-soo is the epitome of consistency, as his career batting average of 0.312 and on-base percentage of 0.393 during the 20 professional seasons suggests. The last time he missed less than 100 games in the season was in 2007, when he was a rookie. KT had high expectations on the consistency, and Kim Hyun-soo was ready to meet the expectations.

Kim Hyun-soo said, "I have no numerical goal at all. I just try not to get sick and not be pushed out of the competition with my juniors. I always think that much about personal things and try to put team play first. Our team's biggest goal is to perform better," he stressed.

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*This content was translated by AI.