*This content was translated by AI.
KT Wiz right-hander Han Seung-hyuk (33) started the 2026 season with extraordinary determination.
This year, KT made a massive reinforcement to forget the pain of failing to advance to the postseason for the sixth consecutive year. Kim Hyun-soo (38), Han Seung-taek (32), and Choi Won-joon (29) spent 10.8 billion won just on recruiting external FA, and changed all foreign players. Among them, Han Seung-hyuk showed the fastest adaptability. Han Seung-hyuk joined KT as a reward player when Kang Baek-ho (27) moved to the Hanwha Eagles as an FA.
At the 2026 KT spring camp in Okinawa, Japan last month, Han Seung-hyuk said, "I'm not very young, but I've adapted quickly. The atmosphere here is really good than I thought. In fact, most of the players I was close to were fielders, so I didn't know about the pitchers, but young players come up well," he said.
"(Kim) Min-soo is my colleague and (Woo) Kyu-min is also there, and he is quickly getting close to young players. (Son) Dong-hyun is here, and Sang-hyun is older than me, but he keeps coming and playing around. It's not easy to do that, but it's not normal. I think this is the team's own atmosphere, so I was able to adapt quickly," he said with a hearty laugh.
Until now, Han Seung-hyuk has been far from winning. I was in good teams, but it was off the mark when he was good. Last year was practically the first time. Last year, Han Seung-hyuk contributed to his team's advance to the Korean Series with a 2.25 ERA with three wins, three losses, 16 holds, and three saves and 53 strikeouts in 64 innings in 71 games for Hanwha.
Han Seung-hyuk said, "Last year was the best season of my career. It was the longest baseball season of my career, and I felt that I should do more physical exercise." "I felt quite tired as I threw the Korean Series. I realized that once I fell physically, it was not easy to get back up the pace. So I tried to eat better and exercise more," he added.
Han Seung-hyuk's performance this year is also a matter of interest in the baseball world. There are some views that he was lucky in last year's performance because he had never recorded an ERA of 3 points in 15 years since his professional debut. On the contrary, as in some recent cases, there are more positive views that they have taken a step up. In addition, there is an interpretation that KT has selected the best reward player to choose, considering the situation of welcoming the FA after this season.
In response, Han Seung-hyuk said, "Life doesn't always seem to go according to plan. I know that too, so when I was good last year, when I was asked that question, I always held three outs and didn't relax until I came down. As soon as the ball left my hand on the mound, I thought my job was done, so I'm just going to pay attention to that."
"No matter what I want to do shamefully, it doesn't go my way. However, he is really paying attention not to give unnecessary walks. I knew that if the number of walks continued to accumulate, the probability of the game breaking is very high, so I paid attention to this part last year. Rather, there are times when the fielders hold the hit well. This year, I'm trying to focus only on what I can do with this in mind," he stressed.
During the spring camp, Han Seung-hyuk deliberately slowed down. Like veteran pitchers who have recently succeeded, he focused on the opening game of the regular season with his own pace.
Han Seung-hyuk said, "In spring camp, I'm suppressing my desire to do really well. I'm on a new team and I know there are expectations for me. So I want to show it, but that's not necessarily a good feeling," he said. He continued, "So, during the camp, I was doing what I planned and suppressing it more. He said, "I'm trying to build my body well and raise my pace by going into the real game."
The fireballer, who saved his strength, left a strong impact on his first stage after returning to Korea. Han Seung-hyuk took the mound in the bottom of the seventh inning in the 2026 KBO exhibition game against the Lotte Giants at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 13th and immediately deleted one inning with eight balls. Coincidentally, it was the day when Kang Baek-ho, who brought him to KT, hit his first home run in an exhibition game wearing a Hanwha uniform.
Han Seung-hyuk put a fastball 150km/h from the first pitch to Lee Ho-joon, the first batter, and soon turned it to a fly ball to the left field. Rookie Lee Seo-joon had a hit to the left, but Park Jae-yeop was treated with a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning. It is a positive start for KT, which has been agonizing over the absence of a setup man who will block the back door with strong pitching with closer Park Young-hyun in recent years. Han Seung-hyuk is also full of will to meet that expectation.
Han Seung-hyuk said, "I feel a lot that KT really cares about me. I also want to make this year a season without regrets," he said.
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*This content was translated by AI.
