‘Beast Defense’ Kim Kang-min (42) finally wore the Hanwha uniform.
He wears his new jersey number 9 and burns his last flame.
The Hanwha Eagles players received new supplies along with a profile photo shoot for the 2024 season at Hanbat Gymnasium next to Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon on the 18th. Kim Kang-min,
who became a new member of Hanwha through the second draft in November last year,
also appeared on this day and wore a Hanwha uniform for the first time.
The new uniform number is 9, replacing the number 0 used during SK-SSG. 카지노사이트 백링크
He captured the attention of those around him by exuding powerful force just by posing in a swing pose.
On this day, Kim Kang-min drove down to Daejeon with outfielder Lee Myeong-ki, a junior from the same team who was training with him in Incheon.
He received a new uniform with number 9 on it and greeted his juniors warmly.
Ahn Chi-hong, a new infielder who came to Hanwha as a free agent, greeted him and smiled, saying, “I’m playing baseball with you too.”
He also exchanged greetings with Hanwha officials, took a profile photo, and collected the newly provided supplies.
He also gave autographs to Hanwha fans waiting outside the gym.
For Hanwha, catcher Kim Chang-hyuk used number 0 in 2018, but number 0 has remained empty since 2019.
Kim Kang-min could have worn number 0, but he chose number 9.
Hanwha’s number 9 was used by infielder Park Jeong-hyun until last year, who joined the Sangmu team last month.
Numbers 3 and 6 remained as single-digit numbers, but 9, which looks similar to 0, became Kim Kang-min’s new number.
Number 3 became Ahn Chi-hong’s new uniform number.
Kim Kang-min has yet to give an official interview since his second draft.
There was so much controversy and controversy in the process of moving his team that he still felt a burden.
He is scheduled to give his first interview as a Hanwha player at Incheon International Airport ahead of his departure for spring camp in Melbourne, Australia on the 30th.
It seems that he will be able to know the reason why he chose uniform number 9 at that time.
Lee Myung-gi, a junior who has been in a relationship with Kim Kang-min since his days at SK, said, “
I was also inspired by seeing Kang Min give up a lot at an age when retirement would not be surprising.
I don’t think I could have done that. “I feel a passion for baseball,” he said. “
I am working out with Kang Min-hyung in Incheon, and I can see why he plays baseball for so long. “I get a lot of motivation from working next to me,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kim Kang-min, a right-handed pitching outfielder who graduated from Gyeongbuk High School and was selected by SK with the 18th overall pick in the second round in 2001,
was an Incheon franchise player who played as a one-club man for 23 years until SSG last year.
Kim Kang-min was always present in SK-SSG’s Korean Series victory a total of five times in 2007-2008, 2010, 2018, and 2022.
In particular, in 2022, in Game 5 with a score of 2 wins and 2 losses,
he hit a three-run home run to end the comeback as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 9th inning,
becoming the oldest Korean Series MVP ever.
Playing a total of 1,919 regular season games, he recorded a batting average of .274 (1,470 hits in 5,364 at-bats),
138 home runs, 674 RBI, 805 runs, 476 walks, 1,114 strikeouts, 209 stolen bases, a .340 on-base percentage, a .410 slugging percentage, and an OPS of .750.
He won the Golden Glove Award for the outfielder category in 2010, and was selected to the Guangzhou Asian Games national team,
where he also received a gold medal. As a center fielder, he boasted a wide range of defense and strength,
to the point where he was called ‘animal defense’, and in batting, he showed his presence with a decisive blow.
He is the oldest active player in the KBO League, along with Choo Shin-soo (SSG) and Oh Seung-hwan (Samsung), born in 1982, and is close to retirement,
but was not included in SSG’s 35-man protected player list in the second draft last November.
SSG did not separately indicate that the player was scheduled to retire, and Hanwha selected Kim Kang-min as the 22nd overall player in the 4th round.
The team of a 23-year franchise player changed in an instant, causing great controversy and topic.
The possibility of his retirement was also raised, but Kim Kang-min decided to continue his career at Hanwha,
which recognized his value as a player. Hanwha, which had weak outfield depth,
needed Kim Kang-min’s defensive ability and experience.
He was highly regarded as a player who could compete for the starting role as well as a pinch hitter, and Kim Kang-min was also moved.
We are looking forward to the impact it will have on the entire team as a living textbook that can serve as an example for young players.
