"Why come all the way down... it's okay." Even after being hit by two pitches in pain, he comforted his junior. A veteran's dignity that embraced even the opposing team. [Suwon Field]

*This content was translated by AI.

"You didn't do it on purpose. It's okay."

KT Wiz infielder Heo Kyung-min (36) warmed the hearts of 10,000 spectators with his attitude of embracing the opposing player even while in pain.

On the 22nd, KT secured a 7-4 victory over NC Dinos in a regular-season home game at Suwon KT Wiz Park, breaking their two-game losing streak.

The turning point of the game came in the bottom of the 7th inning when both teams were tied 4-4. Ryu Jin-wook (30), making his third appearance as a pitcher for NC, started nervously by allowing a hit. Sam Hilliard and Kim Min-hyuk reached base with consecutive hits, and Kim Sang-su created additional advancement with a sacrifice bunt, putting Ryu Jin-wook in a crisis with one out and runners on second and third in an instant.

The next batter was Heo Kyung-min, who had already hit a sacrifice fly and was showing good batting form. Ryu Jin-wook's first pitch, a 148 km/h fastball, was aimed at Heo Kyung-min's shoulder. While this was a common hit-by-pitch, Heo Kyung-min had already been hit in the same spot by Lee Jun-hyuk in the bottom of the 3rd inning, causing the 13,122 spectators at Wiz Park to erupt in excitement.

After the previous hit-by-pitch, Heo Kyung-min had calmly walked away, but this time he could not contain his pain and checked his condition near home plate for a while.

For KT, Heo Kyung-min's injury was inevitably a sensitive issue. Heo Kyung-min had returned from a hamstring injury last month and had played fewer than 10 games. He had also been hit by a pitch in the game against Pohang Samsung Lions the previous day (21st), making this the third hit-by-pitch in just two days.

NC also could not hide their sense of guilt. First, NC captain Park Min-woo (33) approached Heo Kyung-min, who was walking to first base, and conveyed his apology directly. Then, the pitcher involved, Ryu Jin-wook, came down to the line between home and first base himself to apologize to Heo Kyung-min. In response, Heo Kyung-min comforted Ryu Jin-wook and walked to first base, drawing applause from the stands for the veteran's dignified demeanor.

Heo Kyung-min's behavior this time was not the first. On the 31st of last month during an away game against Hanwha Eagles in Daejeon, Heo Kyung-min was hit in the face by Eom Sang-baek (30)'s 146 km/h fastball. Even then, when everyone was shocked, it was Heo Kyung-min who comforted and consoled Eom Sang-baek, who had approached home plate to check on him.

Just like that day, Ryu Jin-wook's hit-by-pitch was already a thing of the past for Heo Kyung-min. After the game, when asked about the situation of walking to first base, Heo Kyung-min smiled and said, "(Ryu) Jin-wook, why did you come all the way down? It wasn't intentional, was it? I was just in pain because I got hit twice today of all days. I'm really okay now."

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*This content was translated by AI.