A 18-year-old boy rushed breathlessly to the draft site, and in just a year and a half, he rose to become the league's ERA leader.

*This content was translated by AI.

On September 11, 2024, at the 2025 KBO League Rookie Draft held at Seoul Lotte Hotel World, a player rushed breathlessly to the venue.

That player was Choi Min-seok (20, Doosan Bears), a third-year student at Seoul High School. He had been watching the draft from his home in Jamsil because he had not received an invitation from the KBO. However, upon being selected 16th overall in the second round by Doosan, he quickly drove to the event venue, arriving in just 10 minutes to give an interview and pose for a photo. Choi Min-seok said, "I was picked much faster than I expected," and added, "Even my mother, who was watching with me, was so surprised that she cried."

No one expected that this 18-year-old boy would rise to become the KBO League's ERA leader in just a year and a half.

On the 19th, Choi Min-seok made his season debut as the starting pitcher in a game against the NC Dinos at Jamsil Stadium. He pitched 7 innings, allowing just 2 hits, 1 walk, and 7 strikeouts while surrendering only 1 unearned run, leading his team to a 9-3 victory.

With this win, Choi Min-seok improved his record to 4 wins and 0 losses with an ERA of 2.17 (45 2/3 innings, 15 runs allowed, 11 earned runs). His ERA ranks first overall among both domestic and foreign players. His win total of 4 is tied for fifth place, behind Tolhurst (LG Twins) and Kim Geon-woo (SSG Landers) with 5 wins, and Boshley (KT Wiz) and Oller (KIA Tigers).

Choi Min-seok joined the starting rotation in May of last year and finished his debut season with 3 wins, 3 losses, and an ERA of 4.40 across 17 games (77 2/3 innings). In his second year this season, he has already surpassed last year's win total in just 8 games and has rapidly emerged as one of the most stable pitchers in the Doosan Bears organization and the entire KBO League.

Choi Min-seok returned to the mound for the first time in 12 days. Doosan manager Kim Won-hyung (54) had kept him out of the first-division roster for 10 days since the start of the season to give him rest, as it was the first time he had been part of the rotation since the season opener. Manager Kim explained, "I believed it was important for a 20-year-old player to avoid injury while playing full time and remain on the roster until the end of the season. I viewed this as a protective measure to take him out when he felt tired in the middle."

Against the NC batters, Choi Min-seok pitched a perfect game through five innings with two outs, throwing 90 pitches to complete a season-high 7 innings, repaying the manager's consideration.

After the game, Choi Min-seok said, "I definitely felt stronger and my control was better after the rest. I wanted to show better performance after returning to the roster, and I'm glad the results came out as expected." He added, "Most importantly, my chemistry with senior (Yang) Ui-ji was excellent. His pitch selection during the game was almost exactly what I had in mind. I am grateful that he always encourages me and guides me."

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*This content was translated by AI.