“I was surprised that it was power.”
Noh Si-hwan (23-Hanhwa), who finished the first half tied for the KBO lead in home runs (19) and has emerged as the league’s leading right-handed slugger, also marveled at the player’s power. LG rookie catcher Kim Bum-seok (19) was impressed by his home run in the Futures All-Star Game.
“He’s a junior in high school, but I’m proud of him. I think he’s good at baseball because he went to a good school,” Noh said when he met with reporters before the All-Star Game at Sajik Stadium in Busan on March 15. The two players are juniors at Gyeongnam Middle and Gyeongnam High School.스포츠토토
Kim Bum-seok started as the No. 4 designated hitter for the Northern team at the Futures All-Star Game on Nov. 14 and went 2-for-4 with a home run, four RBIs and one run scored. He led his team to a 9-7 victory and was named MVP. Most notably, with runners on first and second in the fifth inning, he took a 143-kilometer-per-hour fastball from NC right-hander Jae-Seung Han for a three-run home run over the left-center field fence. It was measured by Trackman as having a distance of 128 meters and a bat speed of 170 km/h.
Kim, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound catcher, hit 10 home runs in 25 games of high school baseball last year. This is the most home runs in a single year in high school baseball since 2004, when wooden bats were introduced. He was selected by the LG with the seventh overall pick in the first round this year for his power. In 47 games in the second-tier Futures League, he has shown his hitting talent with a 3-for-6 record (48-for-157), six home runs, 27 RBIs and an .868 OPS.
“Bum-seok has really good power,” said Noh. I was surprised that he hit his home run yesterday with power. I think Korea could have another right-handed hitter.” “I hope that not only Bum-seok and (Han) Dong-hee-hyung can continue the lineage of right-handed hitters. I hope that there will be a lot of Uta Geopo from Gyeongnam High School.”
[OSEN=Busan, Reporter Lee Dae-sun] On the afternoon of the 14th, the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO Futures All-Star Game was held at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan.In the bottom of the 5th inning, Northern League All-Star Kim Bum-seok hit a three-run home run to the left-center wall. 2023.07.14 /sunday@osen.co.kr
[OSEN=Busan, Lee Dae-sun] Hanwha’s Noh Si-hwan performs a home run race. 2023.07.14 /sunday@osen.co.kr
With the rise of right-handed hitting from the amateur ranks, there are growing concerns that the KBO is losing its lineage of right-handed sluggers. Right-handed hitters are increasingly moving to the left side of the plate to take advantage of the shorter distances to first base and the large number of right-handed pitchers. Right-handed sluggers have become increasingly rare.
After Kim Ha-seong (San Diego) hit 30 homers in 2020 and moved to the American League the following year, the KBO hasn’t had a right-handed hitter in his 20s with more than 20 homers in two years. In 2021, 21-year-old Noh Si-hwan’s 18, and in 2022, 23-year-old Han Dong-hee (Lotte) and 26-year-old Hwang Dae-in (KIA)’s 14 were the most by a right-handed hitter in their 20s. However, with 19 home runs in the first half of this season alone, Noh is tied with Choi Jung (SSG) for first place in the category and is on pace to become the first 20-homer right-hander in three years.
Noh has been a right-handed hitter since he was young, never trying to play left field. “If you look at players who have switched to left field, most of them have quick feet. They can get a lot of infield hits. Among my teammates, there are many players who switched to left field. “I was a big guy from a young age, and I never had a chance to switch to left field,” he said.