"He can never be used in big games," Kim Byung-hyun warns Kim Seo-hyun over his "stubbornness with pitching form": "He could break, snap, or tear."

*This content was translated by AI.

The coaching staff suggested a pitching form adjustment to a pitcher who was struggling to find his rhythm, but Kim Seo-hyun (22, Hanwha Eagles) shook his head. He was then sent to the minor league, but he has not shown any significant improvement.

Oh Seung-hwan, once Korea's top closer, and another legend, Yoon Seok-min, offered their advice, and now even the legendary Kim Byung-hyun (47), who recorded 54 wins and 86 saves in Major League Baseball (MLB), has stepped forward.

On the 25th, Kim Seo-hyun appeared in the top of the 6th inning with his team leading 6-4 against the LG Twins at Seosan Stadium in the 2026 KBO Medihill Futures League home game. He faced four batters over one inning, throwing 13 pitches and recorded a scoreless outing with two walks.

He induced a grounder to the second baseman from the first batter, Kwak Min-ho, but later allowed a hit-by-pitch when a pitch slipped past Son Yong-jun. He also issued a walk to Eom Tae-kyung. He then induced a ground ball to the shortstop against Seo Young-jun to complete a double play and finish his outing, but the result was far from satisfactory.

Kim Seo-hyun, who recorded 33 saves last season and ranked second in the league in saves, has been significantly shaky since the end of last season. This season, he has struggled in 12 games with an ERA of 12.38. His batting average against is 0.281, and an even bigger problem is his erratic control. He allowed 15 walks over 8 innings, and his walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) reached a staggering 3.00.

Although the coaching staff suggested a pitching form adjustment, Kim Seo-hyun expressed his intention to try again using his own method. Sent down to the minor league on the 13th with the goal of stabilizing his control, Kim Seo-hyun allowed two earned runs over 4 innings in four games. He recorded five strikeouts. The problem remains his control. Although he allowed only two hits over 4 innings, he issued six walks. While it is unclear how much more time he needs, it can be said that Kim Seo-hyun has not yet found a solution using his own approach.

Kim Byung-hyun offered advice to Kim Seo-hyun through his YouTube channel, "Kim Byung-hyun," on the 25th. Kim Byung-hyun began by saying, "I shouldn't be saying this, but I'll just give some harsh words today."

Recalling his own days as a major leaguer, Kim Byung-hyun noted that he had no one to communicate with smoothly and offer harsh words back then, stating that Kim Seo-hyun is in an enviable environment.

Kim Byung-hyun said, "When I watched Seo-hyun pitch, whether he was throwing well or poorly, I always had one thought: 'He can't be used in big games.' Now, since he only throws one inning, he can easily get 30 saves, but if you ask me whether I would use him in a national team game in Daejeon, a WBC game against Japan, or in a life-or-death situation, I would answer, 'No, absolutely not.'"

The biggest issue is that he is an unreliable pitcher. Kim Byung-hyun added, "He doesn't know how he should pitch to throw well right now. If his calculations aren't set, how can you send a player into a truly important situation? You might get lucky, but this isn't gambling."

To become a pitcher as stable as Ryu Hyun-jin, one must undergo grueling practice and have absolute confidence in oneself. Kim Byung-hyun said, "The manager and coaches try to help him find that confidence, but he says, 'No, I want to do it my way.' There is a way. If you want to pitch with your form, just pitch well. But when the team is shaken, the fans who support you are shaken, and you yourself are shaken, it shows a very unbalanced situation." He ultimately emphasized that a pitching form adjustment is necessary.

Kim Byung-hyun stated, "If you keep pitching with this form, what will happen is that you could break, snap, or tear. Right now, you have the strength to endure it, but if you go beyond that limit at some point, you could suffer a major injury."

Oh Seung-hwan, regarded as Korea's top closer, said, "Rather than making a big change to your pitching form, it is important to maintain a consistent release point." Kim Byung-hyun responded, "To do that, you must throw a huge number of pitches and adopt a good posture. That is the most difficult thing. That is simply fundamentals."

Regarding Yoon Seok-min's opinion that "the limit of the pitching posture is that it is not fundamentally a posture that allows for accurate throwing," Kim Byung-hyun said, "Kim Seo-hyun does not need speed right now. If he had just polished his fundamentals, he would not be a pitcher who throws so uneasily in one inning. He is a player who could follow in the footsteps of Ryu Hyun-jin, Kim Kwang-hyun, Yoon Seok-min, and Yang Hyeon-jong, and he has many advantages. Amateur coaching staff and managers taught him wrong. I think they have turned him into a dangerous player."

Kim Byung-hyun also did not spare warm advice for Kim Seo-hyun. He said, "Right now, you are boiling with anger, your head is complicated, and you might be thinking, 'Why is this happening only to me?' But many people are saying this out of love and care for you, so you should first calm down. You don't have to pitch right now. The team is doing very well even without Seo-hyun. Don't rush in. I want to tell you to calm down and wait a little until a time comes when you can calmly and objectively see reality."

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*This content was translated by AI.