"I'm quite cheerful." Even in this historic first for the KBO, Park Jun-young of Hanwha beamed with a smile! He also enjoyed the pressure. "I was really nervous and scared..." [Daejeon Field]

*This content was translated by AI.

"I'm quite cheerful."

Park Jun-young (24) of the Hanwha Eagles could not hide his trembling heart as he etched his name into the KBO League history from his debut game.

On the 10th, Park Jun-young made his debut start at the Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular-season home game, pitching 5 innings with 3 hits allowed, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts, and 0 earned runs, leading Hanwha to a 9-3 victory and becoming the winning pitcher in his debut.

This marked the 36th debut start win in KBO League history, and Park Jun-young was the first among players who began their careers as development squad members. As Park Jun-young dominated the game with stable pitching, the batters also came alive. Heo In-seo went 3-for-4 with 1 home run, 1 RBI, and 2 runs scored; Hwang Young-mok went 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs; and Kang Baek-ho went 3-for-4 with 1 home run, 1 RBI, and 2 runs scored, swinging the bats fiercely. Hanwha secured a winning series against LG with 2 wins and 1 loss, moving one step closer to a .500 winning percentage with 16 wins and 20 losses.

On this day, Park Jun-young threw a total of 79 pitches, including 43 fastballs, 19 sliders, 12 changeups, and 5 curveballs. His control was not exceptionally sharp, nor was his fastball particularly fast. Out of the 79th pitches, only 48 were called strikes. His fastest fastball reached 142 km/h.

Nevertheless, he boldly threw 9 out of 16 first pitches (56%) that the opponent did not hit into the strike zone. Even against Hong Chang-gi, the KBO League leader in on-base percentage, he dropped a pitch on the body to induce a looking strikeout and a double play. There were dangerous situations in the first inning with one out and runners on second and third, and in the fourth inning with two outs and runners on first and third, but he calmly threw his own pitches to finish the innings scoreless.

At just 24 years old, his composure was hard to believe for a first debut in the first division. However, when Park Jun-young met with reporters after the game, he gave an unexpected answer. Park Jun-young said, "I was really scared. (Even during crises) I was very nervous, but I tried to enjoy it as much as possible while on the mound. So it probably didn't show much. The defense and catcher (Heo) In-seo played incredibly well, so trusting them and pitching was a great help."

Just seven months ago, this would have been unimaginable. After graduating from Yeongil Elementary, Yeongnam Middle, Chungam High School, and Cheongwon University, Park Jun-young was not selected by any of the 10th KBO teams in last year's rookie draft. Eventually, he began his professional career as a development squad player through a test held in Seosan, Chungcheongnam-do, at the end of last year.

Given two failed draft selections and his status as a development squad player, he might have shed tears over his first win. But just as he tried to enjoy the pressure on the mound, Park Jun-young smiled brightly throughout the interview, lighting up the surroundings.

Park Jun-young said, "I don't cry easily. I smile a lot and I'm quite cheerful. I am a player who has only experienced failures. But instead of thinking negatively each time, 'Why isn't this working?', I tried to think positively, 'If I work harder on the parts that aren't working, maybe I'll get good results.' I think it was good that I kept growing like that every year."

His efforts without losing hope began to bear fruit. Park Jun-young had an impressive performance in the Futures League this year with 7 games, 4 wins, no losses, an ERA of 1.29, 28 innings, 22 strikeouts, and a batting average against of 0.186. Recently, he also received the Futures League Monthly Rookie Award. Park Seung-min (49), the Hanwha first division pitching coach who had watched him closely in the Futures League, remembered that. Coach Park Seung-min recommended Park Jun-young to Head Coach Kim Kyung-moon, and on the 7th, the day after a Futures League game on the 6th, he received news of his call-up.

Park Jun-young recalled, "I have run countless times to get to this spot, and when I heard the news, I felt like I was flying high. However, I thought I had to stay calm on the mound, so I tried to come off the mound having done everything I could without any regrets."

He could have aimed for his career's first quality start (6 or more innings pitched with 3 or fewer earned runs), but he was satisfied with the record of the first debut start win by a development squad player in KBO history. Park Jun-young said, "When I came off after pitching 5 innings, I was preparing for the next inning. But my stuff was not good, so Coach Park Seung-min told me, 'You did really well today and worked hard.' Head Coach Kim Kyung-moon also said, 'Thank you so much, you did really well, nice pitching,' so I was truly happy." He added, "I just heard it's the first record in KBO history, and it was truly amazing. Through today, I want to keep setting records."

On this day, 17,000 fans filled the Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark for the 18th time this season. Fans who witnessed this historic first in the KBO cheered loudly for Park Jun-young, regardless of which team they supported, chanting "Park Jun-young" and applauding enthusiastically. In response, Park Jun-young said, "I think this will be a day I will never forget. That roar and cheer were a great source of strength for me. I am so grateful, and I feel I must repay that much more, so I want to prepare better next time and show an even better performance."

There are two Park Jun-youngs on Hanwha. One is Park Jun-young who achieved the first debut start win by a development squad player in KBO history, and the other is Park Jun-young (23) who joined the team as the first pick in the second round of the 2022 KBO Rookie Draft. Park Jun-young said with a broad smile, "I am one year older than (Park) Jun-young, so in the team, we are called 1-Jun-young and 2-Jun-young. We were even featured on Bulkkot Baseball before, so we are also called Bul-Jun-young, but I am grateful no matter how you call us."

Finally, he expressed his gratitude to the coaching staff who believed in him. Park Jun-young bowed his head and said, "I am truly grateful to Head Coach Kim Kyung-moon, Pitching Coach Park Seung-min, Futures League Manager Lee Dae-jin, and Coach Jung Woo-ram for giving me the opportunity."

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*This content was translated by AI.