'82 Park Cheol-soon → '04 Park Myung-hwan': The Monster Reappears After 22 Years, 20-Year-Old Choi Min-seok's Great Challenge to Lead the ERA

*This content was translated by AI.

In 1982, Park Cheol-soon; in 2004, Park Myung-hwan. Now, 22 years later, another pitcher is challenging for the ERA title as a native Doosan Bears pitcher. He is the 20th-year-old monster pitcher Choi Min-seok.

On the 19th, Choi Min-seok started against the NC Dinos at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium in a 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League home game. He threw 90 pitches over 7 innings, allowing 2 hits, 1 walk, and 7 strikeouts, with only 1 run allowed (unearned), securing his fourth win (undefeated) of the season.

Selected by Doosan in the second round, 16th overall, in the 2025 rookie draft, Choi Min-seok has steadily received opportunities as a starter since his debut season. In 17 games, he pitched 77⅔ innings, posting a 3-3 record with a 4.40 ERA, showing promise.

This season, he has exploded with potential. In five games in April, he went 3-0 with a 1.82 ERA, performing brilliantly. In two games in May, he appeared somewhat fatigued. After taking a break and visiting the minor league team, he delivered the best pitching performance of his career today.

NC seemed determined to field a lineup of seven left-handed hitters out of nine, but Choi Min-seok relentlessly attacked the inside corner of left-handed batters from the start of the game. Through the top of the fifth with two outs, he recorded four strikeouts and allowed no baserunners, striking out only left-handed batters. His decisive pitches were all inside.

The perfect game ended in the top of the fifth with two outs. Choi engaged in a fierce full-count battle with Do Tae-hoon and eventually issued a walk, then allowed his first hit to Park Si-won.

However, he did not waver. With two outs and runners on first and third, NC brought in Matt Davidson, who had returned from injury, as a pinch hitter. Choi Min-seok showed no signs of shrinking back, striking out Davidson with a sweeping outside pitch on a favorable count, extinguishing the threat himself.

The sixth inning was disappointing. Choi struck out Choi Jung-won, but the ball slipped behind the catcher, allowing a single to first base, followed by a stolen base at second. He allowed his first run of the day on a hit by Han Seok-hyun. It was not charged as an earned run.

Choi Min-seok finished the seventh inning with just 10 pitches, retiring the side in order, and concluded his pitching for the day. He could have pitched more, but with the Hanwha Eagles game scheduled for the 24th, there was no need to overexert himself to end the week.

After the game, manager Kim Won-hyeong praised, "Starter Choi Min-seok dominated the game with his powerful stuff. Thanks to good preparation during his rest period, he pitched aggressively, and the batters provided ample run support, allowing him to pitch comfortably."

With his perfect pitching today, Choi Min-seok extended his personal winning streak to four games and lowered his ERA to 2.17, surpassing second-place Ariel Jurado (Samsung, ERA 2.33) to take the league lead in ERA.

Last year, his batting average against left-handed batters was 0.294, significantly weaker than against right-handed batters (0.192). This season, however, the situation has changed dramatically. While he remains stronger against right-handed batters (0.193), the trend is noteworthy. His performance against right-handed batters is nearly the same as last year, but against left-handed batters, he has posted a 0.210 average, showing a remarkable improvement.

The secret lies in his expanded repertoire and more aggressive inside pitching. Catcher Yang Eui-ji, who worked closely with him, said after the game, "Min-seok came back rested, and his stuff was excellent. During today's power analysis, we executed our plan perfectly. His control was excellent, and he settled things quickly, leading to a very good result." He added, "He's a young player, but he pitches with the cunningness of a veteran. Before the game, we said 'Min-seok isn't here,' but he pitched well again today. He had almost no walks and settled things quickly within about five pitches, which worked out very well."

Everyone knows that inside pitching is important, but executing it is another matter. Yang Eui-ji said, "Min-seok has good stuff, so we focused on that direction (inside pitching), and it seemed to work very well."

Choi Min-seok also said, "I feel I've gained a bit more ability to throw to the inside or wherever I want to throw, and with my cutter, it seems to be more effective against left-handed batters. As I keep throwing inside pitches, my confidence grows. Even when I throw deep inside, batters can't make solid contact and mostly miss, which further boosts my confidence."

There have been six instances in KBO League history where a Bears pitcher led the league in ERA. All were different pitchers, and among them, five were so dominant that they were named Most Valuable Player (MVP). However, four of those six were foreign pitchers (Daniel Rios in 2007, Dustin Nippert in 2016, Josh Lindblom in 2018, and Ariel Miranda in 2021).

The only native pitchers to lead the league in ERA were Park Cheol-soon (1.84) in the inaugural professional season of 1982 and Park Myung-hwan (2.50) in 2004. Now, 22 years later, in 2026, Choi Min-seok has surprisingly risen to first place, setting out to validate the 22nd-year cycle theory.

As a right-handed pitcher, his fastball reached a maximum of 146 km/h today, not exceeding 150 km/h, yet he was more than sufficient to dominate batters. Veteran catcher Yang Eui-ji said, "First, the movement of the ball is excellent. When he's in good condition, it reaches the high 140s km/h. Compared to the speed, the ball is quite dirty, which is a significant advantage." He added, "His mental ability to engage in battles immediately without hesitation is also highly rated."

To throw more powerful pitches, he has increased his average weight by 3.4 kg compared to last season and maintains 90 kg. As it is his first full-time season, he took rest under the care of the coaching staff, which allowed him to throw even more powerful pitches.

He delivered the best pitching of his career and climbed to first place in ERA. This has raised expectations that he could become the protagonist of the 22nd-year cycle theory and create another chapter of pride for Doosan fans.

However, there are still many shortcomings, so he is trying not to be overly ambitious. He simply accepts this moment as it is. Choi Min-seok said, "It's because I got lucky," but also added, "I don't know when (the ERA) will rise again, so I want to enjoy it now."

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*This content was translated by AI.