“It was good until 3-0, but Kim Joo-won caught Jo Soo-haeng’s swooping ball very well with one out and third base on base. “It’s a shame we couldn’t get away with a 4-0 score.”주소
Kim Joo-won (21), NC Dinos’ Hangzhou Asian Games gold medalist, said ahead of the first game of the wild card decision against the Doosan Bears on the 18th, “It hasn’t been long since I returned from a big game. It’s been a while since the regular season ended, so there’s no sense of a postseason. “After experiencing such competitions, he seemed to have grown and became more relaxed.”
Manager Kang In-kwon closed his eyes and pushed Kim Joo-won to give him the experience of being his first full-time shortstop. In 127 games, batting average 0.233, 10 home runs, 54 RBI, 56 runs, 15 steals, OPS 0.668, scoring average 0.267. There were as many as 30 mistakes. As expected, the wall of the shogi race was huge.
This ordeal actually became medicine in Hangzhou. In the middle of the tournament, he was promoted to the starting shortstop, beating Park Seong-han (SSG), and showed great success in offense and defense day after day. After leading Korea to the gold medal, he gained confidence that he could do it. As he said himself, the Hangzhou Asian Games remained an international competition that Kim Joo-won will never forget.
Kim Joo-won’s upward trend led to the wild card match. He showed off his high-sensitivity batting with 2 hits, 2 RBI, 2 runs, and 1 walk in 4 at-bats. In defense, he boasted a wide coverage range using his quick feet, as well as stable handling of balls deep in the third zone.
Even former Doosan coach Lee Seung-yeop lamented Kim Joo-won’s defense. In fact, in the top of the second inning when Doosan was ahead 2-0, with one out and runners on third base, Cho Soo-haeng’s batted ball was handled forward and defended, resulting in an out. Doosan actually failed to score an extra point at the time. Of course, we scored 1 point in the 3rd inning, but we were unable to completely control the flow of the game. In the end, NC took control of the game in the bottom of the 4th inning when they were down 0-3 with Seo Ho-cheol’s left-handed grand slam and Kim Hyeong-jun’s back-to-back solo shots.
Because it was a forward defense, it seemed like a hit that wouldn’t be difficult to handle, but if you look closely, that’s not the case. It was not a ball that Kim Joo-won safely caught in front of his body. He caught a batted ball heading to his left by momentarily turning his glove to the side. As coach Lee Seung-yeop said, it was not an easy hit.
Senior Son Ah-seop looks at Kim Joo-won like that and feels happy. In fact, Kim Joo-won was chosen as the player to look forward to ahead of the first game of the wild card decision. Son Ah-seop said, “After going to a big game, I can see the relaxation. Even if it seems like nothing, it is a big thing. He will do a good job. “I will not be intimidated,” he said.
Just like that, his postseason debut was a success. Now, the shortstop matchup with Park Seong-han in the semi-playoffs has been completed. Kim Joo-won also said ahead of the first game of the wild card decision, “Defense is the most important. If a mistake is made in defense, it falls apart. It is not the end but the beginning. “I think it would be fun.”This postseason may mark the birth of the next national team shortstop. Currently, the number one shortstop in the KBO League is definitely Oh Ji-hwan (LG Twins). The second place is a battle between Park Seong-han and Park Chan-ho (KIA Tigers). If Kim Joo-won enters the second-in-command structure, it will be a huge success. It seems quite possible