"Like Tatis Jr..." Kim Hyung-joon's final evolutionary type, WBC, made his dream more concrete [the site of a water source]

*This content was translated by AI.

"I liked it best when (Fernando) Tatis Jr. hit it."

Along with Moon Bo-kyung (LG), he personally confirmed the hit of Fernando Tatis Jr. (27, San Diego), who became the joint RBI king of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) with 11 RBIs. Then, Kim Hyung-joon (27, NC Dinos)' goal became more certain.

Kim Hyung-joon met with Star News ahead of the 2026 KBO exhibition game against KT Wiz at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 21st and said, "I was impressed when the Dominican Republic players were training to hit. I think there was a different part," he said, referring to Tatis Jr.'s name.

Earlier, Park Hae-min (LG) said he was deeply impressed to see Dominican players, who seemed to focus on hitting long balls, training with a focus on direction during batting training, but what Kim Hyung-joon felt was a little different.

"I'm doing it that way, so I watched Tatis hit it carefully rather than that," he said. "I want my hitting to come out that way."

Tatis Jr. played with Kim Ha-sung (Atlanta) in San Diego and is now a batter who shares the same bowl with Song Sung-moon, who debuted in the Major League (MLB) in 2019 and hit 152 home runs in six seasons. Ahead of the 2021 season, when he played only two seasons in the big leagues, he signed an ultra-long-term extension contract for $340 million (512.2 billion won) for 14 years, so he has chosen to lead the team in San Diego early on.

It also flew much higher on the WBC. He hit .400 (8 hits in 20 at-bats) with two home runs, six walks, five strikeouts and 11 RBIs, a 0.538 on-base percentage, a slugging percentage of .700 and an OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of 1.238 in six games until the final.

In particular, ahead of the match against South Korea in the quarterfinals, he had the opportunity to come closer than ever, and Kim Hyung-joon was more motivated.

"At the moment, I'm taking that swing. "When I talked with the coach, I heard only the coach's words, but when I saw him in person, Tatis was making the most such swing," he said. "We are making a swing so that such a mechanism can come out."

Is it the influence. Kim Hyung-joon hit his first grand slam against the Samsung Lions on the 20th. In the WBC, there were concerns about a gap in the actual game as he could not enter a single at-bat, but it was a shot that could be washed away.

Kim Hyung-joon, who is the first to hit a grand slam, including his middle and high school days, said, "It's hard to say that he's completely found a sense of hitting. I think we still need more adaptation," he said.

In that respect, it remains regrettable that he failed to take the opportunity to bat in the WBC. "It's a stage that everyone would want to go out on," he said. "As I watched it in the dugout, I thought about how good it would be to play in the game, and I thought about whether I could hit it when I entered the batter's box. Still, I learned a lot while watching the game," he said.

Kim Hyung-joon is still considered a candidate for the next generation of KBO's best home turf to succeed Yang Eui-ji (Doosan) and Kang Min-ho (Samsung), who are the best, but there is more to show right now.

"First of all, it's important not to get sick," he said ahead of the opening. "It's important that the team's performance is better than last year, and I think I should play a role in catching stolen bases and leading pitchers well by hitting a lot of home runs and long balls."

As I have been to the WBC stage that everyone dreams of, I have also prepared special gifts for my colleagues. He prepared pizza for the team ahead of the match on the 20th. Kim Hyung-joon said, "In fact, this camp must have been difficult for everyone, but I came out first to go to WBC. I shot it to my brothers and juniors to mean that they all worked hard and to do well as the season is coming up. Since I went to WBC, I thought it was right to shoot once. I shot it this time, and (Kim) Joo-won and (Kim) Young-gyu are also scheduled to buy it next time," he said with a smile.

I had a bigger dream. Kim Hyung-joon, who experienced the same special treatment as major leaguers, said, "I only heard about it, but it was so comfortable to experience it, and it really helped me prepare for the game." I've been dreaming about (MLB) for a long time, but I have a desire to experience it if I have a chance," he said.

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*This content was translated by AI.