Professional baseball KT Wiz's new closer Park Young-hyun (21) has been imprinted as the best closer, showing a scary growth across the KBO League and international competitions.

Park Young-hyun, who took over the team's finishing position after Kim Jae-yoon (Samsung), who was the team's flagship closer, left for FA, showed his impressive performance in the 2024 regular league and postseason (PS), and also showed his true value in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier 12, establishing himself as a new guardian of Korean baseball.메이저놀이터

Park Young-hyun, who joined KT after receiving the first rookie nomination in the 2022 season, won the Hongde King last year, his second year, and took the heavy responsibility of being the team's closing pitcher this year, overwhelming opposing batters with his unique bold personality and outstanding pitching.

He was a bit unstable in the early days of the regular season, but he regained his power over the course of more games, displaying good pitching in the season with 10 wins and 2 losses, 25 saves and an earned run average of 3.52. He was honored with the title (0.833), which ranks first in winning percentage.

With the momentum, he pitched a perfect "0" ERA with one win, two saves and two hits in six ⅓ innings in a total of four games, including a wild card game and a semi-PO.

Park Young-hyun's true value was also demonstrated in the international stage of Premier 12. He silenced the opponent's batting line with a fast ball of around 150km and a high-speed slider of around 130km, and his strikeout ability in a decisive situation was outstanding.

In three of the five group games played by the Korean national team, he pitched three ⅔ innings, making one win, one save, six strikeouts and zero ERA. In particular, in the final group match against Australia on the 18th, he struck out all three Australian batters in the top of the ninth inning, drawing cheers.

Throughout this tournament, he impressed as the best closing pitcher to succeed Oh Seung-hwan (Samsung), the famous Korean national team's "finisher," as the "time of Park Young-hyun's introduction" is the key.

"Park Young-hyun was the best pitcher in the national team," Korean national team coach Ryu Joong-il said. "I have no doubt that if I continue to play as a closing pitcher, I will be reborn as the best pitcher."

Park Young-hyun also said, "There were some good games during this tournament, but there were also some games that were regrettable. If I get another chance, I will try harder to become a pitcher who can take responsibility for the back door of the national team."

Despite the Korean team's shock elimination from the Premier 12, Park Young-hyun's growth with fielder Kim Do-young is considered a huge accomplishment. Park's impressive performances in the league and international arena have given way to Korean baseball's limitations on the international stage. His challenge and growth have just begun.