Kim was chosen by the Doosan Bears as the second overall pick in the first round of the rookie draft last year. Having thrown balls over 150 kilometers in fastballs since her high school days, Kim has performed brilliantly in every game, being embroiled in suspicions of overwork at the 2023 WBSC World Youth Championship (U-18), and has secured a down payment of 350 million won, the same as Hwang Jun-seo, the first overall pick. This indicates that Doosan had high expectations.메이저놀이터

Kim Taek-yeon, who received a lot of attention even before joining the team, was listed on the first-team spring camp list and was given the opportunity to play against the prestigious Japanese club, the Softbank Hawks, as she succeeded in completing until the end. And he showed a perfect pitch with the fastball, and Softbank's "No. 4 hitter" Hotaka Yamakawa and Japanese media praised Kim Taek-yeon.

In particular, even before making her debut, Kim Taek-yeon had the pleasure of joining the "Seoul Series" team Korea and winning the national flag, and this time, LA Dodgers manager Dave Roberts praised it. Although it could have been seen as lip service, Kim Taek-yeon's talent was "real." Starting with the setup man, Kim quickly took the finishing position and finished her debut season with a great performance of 3 wins, 2 losses, 4 holds, 19 saves, and an ERA of 2.08.

In fact, with the name "Kim Taek-yeon" engraved on the Rookie of the Year title, Kim Taek-yeon was the only high school graduate who succeeded in making the preliminary list of the Premier 12 national team. Unless something big happens, Kim Taek-yeon is very likely to join the final entry of the "Ryu Joong-il."

Kim Taek-yeon/Kochuk = Reporter Park Seung-hwan of the 2024 WBSC Premier 12 National Team

As such, Ryu Joong-il has high expectations. Asked about Kim Taek-yeon before his first training session on Monday, the head coach said, "He is Doosan's closing pitcher. It was great to see his pitching. I will look forward to it." However, I am not sure about his position yet. I see many pitchers (good players) throwing in the middle. I will decide how to run the mound after discussing with the pitching coach. If I throw in every game, I will be overloaded, so I will control it well."

How does it feel to wear the third national flag after Team Korea including the U-18 team? "I was amazed at the Seoul Series. However, I still have a sense of responsibility because I am on the preliminary roster and play overseas on behalf of my real country, so I think I need to do better," Kim said.

It is a perfect honor for Kim to join the national team. Fans of Doosan Bears, however, are not always happy to see him playing in the national team. He played 65 innings in 60 games since his debut season. Including exhibition games and the postseason, he pitched 70 ⅓ innings in total. For this reason, Lee Seung-yeop, who expressed his intention to cut Kim off from the 40-inning line, was criticized and criticized. However, Kim said he has no physical problems.

"I have no problem with my physical condition at all," Kim said. "I have to face it in the first season to know when it is difficult and when I have to face it. I thought, 'I always go out. It's okay, I can do it' without any pressure. And before that, I had no problem because a lot of training parts and coaches checked it out," Kim said. "I rested for about a week after the end of the season and prepared so that my physical condition would not deteriorate. For now, I can start pitching within this week."

Kim Taek-yeon, who showed off her excellent pitching against major leaguers and also wore the Korean national flag in high school, will feel different playing in the Premier 12. "I think the Seoul Series and the Premier 12 will be very different. At that time, I had no information about myself, so naturally, the pitcher was in advantage. And I was a pitcher who threw with nothing to lose. Those who have nothing to lose are the scariest. Rather, I think the Premier 12 could be a little more difficult."

Still, throughout the season, Kim has gained a lot of experience as well. "I was an amateur at the U-18 team, and I had a lot to show my side as it was before I was nominated. However, I had a lot of experience this year. I also had a lot of difficult situations as I advanced to the end after playing with the Japanese team. It was a short year, but I think I did what I could."

He has set a new record for the most saves this year for high school graduates, but he has let go of his greed to finish in the national team. That's because there are so many good players. "Since there are more experienced seniors in the national team than me, I want to enter the final list first and throw the ball in any situation," Kim Taek-yeon said. "In this Premier 12, I want to show a gutsy and confident pitch as I have done so far. And I want to go at least to the semifinals and beyond."