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It was my dream to play baseball in the U.S.” Shim Jun-seok officially joined the MLB Pirates

adminJanuary 27, 2023

On the 27th, Shim Jun-seok visited PNC Park, Pennsylvania, USA, home of the MLB (US Professional Baseball) Pittsburgh Pirates, and signed the contract to officially join the team. The Pirates stayed at the bottom of the National League Central Division last season (62 wins, 100 losses, 0.383 win rate), but they are a team that shines with five World Series championships 메이저사이트

Shim Jun-seok’s uniform number is 49, and he wore the same number while attending Deoksu High School. On this day, he took a commemorative photo with his arms raised on the mound at PNC Park.

In an interview with MLB.com, Shim Jun-seok said, “I still have a long way to go, but I am very happy to be here.” (Joining) This entire process has been a great motivation for me.” He added, “Since I was little, it was my dream to play baseball in America, and I came here to fulfill that dream.” Regarding the history of injuries in high school, such as elbow in 2021 and big toe in 2022, “There is nothing wrong. I am ready to throw (the ball).”

When asked about his “role model,” he picked Gerrit Cole (33), an MLB top pitcher who debuted with the Pirates and moved to the New York Yankees via the Houston Astros. Cole is from MLB’s ‘Strikeout King’ last season (257 strikeouts).

Right-handed pitcher Shim Jun-seok was ranked 10th among all international prospects by MLB. He has an average speed of 94 to 96 miles (about 151 to 154 km) for a fastball that is put down from his height (194 cm), and he has a curve with a large drop. He is now known to hone his changeup and splitter as well. In particular, he also drew attention by throwing a fastball of 157 km/h at the Blue Dragon Baseball Championship last year. If he trains hard in the minor leagues, he will be able to command a fast ball of over 100 miles per hour (about 161 km per hour) in the future.

Although the size of the contract (750,000 dollars, approximately 920 million won) reported by local media reports is below expectations, the Pirates are said to have high expectations for Shim Jun-seok.

Max Kwan, a Pittsburgh player officer, said, “Shim Jun-seok was caught on the Pirates radar around 2020.” “I watched almost every game,” he said.

Shim Jun-seok’s current skills and mental strength were also highly evaluated.

Junior Vizcaino International Scouting Director said, “Shim Jun-seok is not only good in his skills but also has a sense of composure. At the time, he could have flinched, but he chose to fight head-on and got out of the crisis.”