At the age of 19, KT Wiz right-handed pitcher Park Young-hyun is already breaking the record for the third youngest player.
Park Young-hyun made a relief appearance in the 8th inning against the NC Dinos held at Changwon NC Park on the 13th when the team was ahead 5-2, and allowed 1 scoreless inning, recording his 30th hold of the season. The youngest person to hold 30 holds in the KBO League. The previous record was set by Hyunhee Han (then of Nexen Heroes) in 2014 at the age of 21 years, 3 months and 20 days, 스포츠토토 and Younghyun Park achieved this feat more than a year earlier at the age of 19 years, 11 months and 2 days.
This is not the first time Park Young-hyun has recorded the youngest record. He recorded the youngest postseason save (19 years and 6 days) in the second game of the semi-playoffs against Kiwoom Heroes on October 17 last year, and set a new record for the youngest saves in a single season with 28 holds in the game against the Suwon Samsung Lions on the 31st of last month. .
What’s even more surprising is that Park Young-hyun is at the top of the hold leaderboard. Currently, Park Young-hyun is ranked first in the holds category (31), beating Noh Kyeong-eun (24 holds, SSG Landers) by 7. It is a variable that he cannot play in the league due to participating in the Hangzhou Asian Games (AG) held in September, but at his current pace, he is likely to win his first title since his debut. Park Young-hyun can also break the title of youngest hold king recorded by Han Hyun-hee in 2013.
As Park Young-hyun’s good pitching continues, AG baseball team coach Ryu Joong-il’s smile becomes brighter. Among the pitchers on the Asian Games national team, there are few players who have continued to perform as consistently as Park Young-hyun. If this continues, it is highly likely that Park Young-hyun will serve as the closing pitcher in AG. He can take his first step toward becoming the national team closer, following in the footsteps of his role model, Oh Seung-hwan, a position he has longed for since before his debut.
About five days until joining the AG national team. For now, Park Young-hyun plans to focus more on the back door of his team KT. He hopes to secure more of his team’s wins and win more holds over the remaining five days to solidify his position as ‘Youngest Hold King’. KT also needs to accumulate a lot of wins before ‘set-up man’ Park Young-hyun joins the national team. In a situation where Pil Seung-jo’s resources are low, Park Young-hyun’s departure for two weeks is painful for KT.
Park Young-hyun said, “There are a lot of good pitchers on the team. I believe they will do well (while I am away),” and said, “I will throw better before I go to the national team.”