Ahn Woo-jin's "12-year pitcher" career high, too much talker, began with "One Word." "If I bow down, I'm swearing."

Ahn Woo-jin's "12-year pitcher" career high, too much talker, began with "One Word." "If I bow down, I'm swearing."

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This year, Kiwoom Heroes pitcher Ha Young-min (30) needs to closely look at his expression on the mound. This is because the secret of his career high ranking as the first Korean pitcher 11 years after his debut lies in that.메이저사이트

Ha Young-min recently met Star News at the 2025 Kiwoom Spring Camp held at the Athletic Ground in Mesa, Arizona, and said with a big smile, "Think that I'm cursing if I keep throwing balls this year and bowing down. That's the secret of last year's good result."

Last year, Kiwoom properly played a role as a red pepper powder unit, winning 21 out of 48 games against the first- and third-place teams, even though it was at the bottom. The third starter, led by Ariel Furado, Enmanuel de Heissus and Ha Young-min, was at the center of the upset.

Notably, Ha Young-min stood out in the regular season. Last year, Ha Young-min had the best season since his debut as a pro in 2014 with nine wins and eight losses with an ERA of 4.37 and 101 strikeouts in 150 ⅓ innings in 28 games. It was the first time that he had exceeded 100 innings in a single season since his debut and struck out more than 100 times last year. In terms of wins and innings alone, he filled the vacancy of ace Ahn Woo-jin (26) before joining the military. In 2023, Ahn served as the first starter with nine wins and seven losses and an ERA of 2.39 in 24 games (150 ⅔ innings). Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop of the LG Twins, who was inferior to Kiwoom by 6 wins and 10 losses last year, also said, "It is not easy if Hurado, Heysus or Ha Young-min turns in the match against Kiwoom."
San Diego advisor Park Chan-ho (left) and Kiwoom manager Hong Won-ki during the 2023 U.S. Spring Camp. The two are also famous as best friends in the baseball world.

Behind the performance was a word from "Korean Express" special advisor Park Chan-ho (52) of the San Diego Padres. Advisor Park Chan-ho has been visiting the Heroes Spring Camp for more than a decade since 2012, when Hong began his leadership career with Kiwoom coach Hong Won-ki (52), who shared elementary, middle and high schools.

Park Chan-ho's excellent lectures, which last for three to four hours at most, and sometimes one to two hours, have become blood and flesh for Heroes' players every year. Ha Young-min, who has been listening to the lectures for more than 10 years, was one of them.

Ha Young-min said, "During last year's spring camp, Park Chan-ho came and said, 'Don't just talk to yourself on the mound, but talk to yourself a lot,' which helped a lot. I didn't talk to myself in the bullpen before my senior told me, but I started doing it when I started playing as a starter last year."

"I cursed at myself while throwing my ball back to back, and that really helped me a lot. When the game was in a mess or I couldn't concentrate, I talked to myself, 'What's wrong, wake up, what are you doing?' and then I became more focused. I'm going to continue that routine again this year. If I keep throwing my ball and bowing down during the game, I'm cursing at myself," he said with a big smile.

Ha Young-min's rebound, along with Song Seong-moon's career high, was one of the few remaining challenging seasons last year. Following counsel Park Chan-ho's mental mentoring, Forks that he learned from Kiwoom's first team pitching coach Lee Seung-ho displayed synergistic effects. He erased his weaknesses against left-handed hitters, changed his pitching repertoire, and became a difficult pitcher to deal with.

In line with Kiwoom's strategy to strengthen its batting lineup, only Kenny Rosenberg (30) will play as a foreign pitcher this year, making Ha more responsible as a second starter. However, Ha Young-min is enjoying baseball more with joy that has finally started to produce results than with that sense of responsibility. He was already preparing for the 2025 season, boasting perfect chemistry with Rosenberg, who was born in 1995.

Ha Young-min is deeply moved by Park Chan-ho, who led such a change. Moreover, Park Chan-ho suffered from the burning of his home in Beverly Hills in the western U.S. last month due to wildfires that hit the entire Los Angeles area. He thanked his senior for visiting the Kiwoom Spring camp even though he was living in a hotel temporarily.

Ha Young-min said, "I'd like to take this opportunity to say thank you to Park Chan-ho. I'm all the more grateful because I know that it's not an easy opportunity to visit every year. As a junior, he is very helpful in teaching me a routine as a pitcher, how to deal with certain situations, and what is important to pitchers every year. I also try to keep my word this year by saying carefully that throwing one ball should be thrown at everything. My goal this year is to eat more innings than 10 wins. I will surpass last year's performance," he said.