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"The defense is still better than the home run. I'm a shortstop."
NC Dinos shortstop Kim Ju-won is having his best year of 2025. He played 121 games until the 2nd, hitting .31 with 13 homers, 53 RBIs and 38 steals.
His defense was good, so he began to be used as a rookie in 2021, and he actually played as a regular shortstop from the 2022 season. He seemed to be unable to escape the batting average limit in the early-mid-2020 season in 2023 and last year, when he became a full starter, but this year he was completely 'rebounded'. As all the existing strong players such as Oh Ji-hwan (LG), Park Chan-ho (KIA), and Park Sung-han (SSG) are sluggish, some say that they may have won the shortstop Golden Glove. That's how impressive the performance is.
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| The NC-Hanwha match at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 1st. Kim Joo-won and Park Min-woo, who put out Moon Hyun-bin at third base with a nice throw on Moon Hyun-bin's double with two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning, are happy. Daejeon = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.7.1/ |
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At the KT Wiz match held at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 2nd, he played three hits, including a home run, leading his team to a 9-4 victory. He hit an RBI double in the fourth inning and a running solo shot in the sixth inning. It wasn't just an attack. After hitting a home run, he handled Kang Hyun-woo's ball like a picture in the bottom of the sixth inning with no runners on defense with one out. The missed ball was very slow, and before catching the ball, the last bound was spinned and flowed in an unpredictable direction, balancing the body, snatching the ball with his glove and out with a watery throw. It was a two-point difference, so it was a fantastic defense in a situation where the pitcher could be under pressure if the runner went out.
I asked Kim Joo-won. "Homerun is good, good defense is good." The answer came back without hesitation. "I like the lake ratio better."
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| NC-Hanwha match held at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 2nd. NC won 2-0. Kim Hwi-jip and Kim Joo-won are happy. Daejeon = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.7.2/ |
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Kim Ju-won said "I'm a shortstop. Defending comes first for shortstop. He is paying more attention to defense." Still, we can't help but talk about the bat that has changed dramatically this year. Kim Joo-won said, `I think I had a lot of hard work last season. As I tried to refine it more based on last year's season, I improved my mind at bat and stabilized myself. I think that's why it got better than last year", he explained.
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| A game between the Doosan Bears and the NC Dinos at Jamsil Stadium on the 14th. NC Kim Joo-won is cheering after hitting a solo shot in the top of the first inning. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.08.14/ |
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The record was 10 in a season, and the number of home runs increased to 13 from 9 last year. If it grows like this, there is a good possibility of 20 home runs and shortstop. Kim Joo-won said "The biggest thing I felt while playing last year was not that long balls came out just because I was conscious of long balls. I think if you get a lot of hits, your home run increases naturally. I'm just thinking of making the strongest in-play ball possible," he stressed. However, when he pointed out that the home run against KT was too obvious, he smiled and denied that it came out naturally.
Kim Joo-won said of the Death 5th Division, `We have a high probability of continuing to meet the opponent's first and second starters because we have a lot of games left. It won't be easy. Still, if I do my best in every game, I think the good results will follow at the end. The players are not very conscious, and I just think that they do their best in every game. "
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
