Miracle tie solo shot Kim Joo-won's tearful press conference. My maternal grandfather didn't go to the funeral and stayed in Japan

Nov 17, 2025

Miracle tie solo shot Kim Joo-won's tearful press conference. My maternal grandfather didn't go to the funeral and stayed in Japan
Korean baseball team Kim Joo-won is teary-eyed, saying he played this series at a time when he hit a tying solo shot in the bottom of the ninth inning of the warm-up match against Japan on the 16th and suffered a foreign aid injury at the press conference. Tokyo = Reporter Kwon In-ha



Miracle tie solo shot Kim Joo-won's tearful press conference. My maternal grandfather didn't go to the funeral and stayed in Japan
Korean baseball team Kim Joo-won is talking about suffering a foreign aid injury at the press conference after hitting a tying solo shot in the bottom of the ninth inning in a warm-up match against Japan on the 16th. Tokyo = Reporter Kwon In-ha
Miracle tie solo shot Kim Joo-won's tearful press conference. My maternal grandfather didn't go to the funeral and stayed in Japan
2025 K-Baseball Series warm-up match between South Korea and Japan held at Tokyo Dome, Japan on the 16th. With two outs and no runners in the bottom of the ninth inning, Kim Joo-won is running around the ground after hitting a tiebreaking solo home run. Yonhap News
The home run that saved Korean baseball was a cry for his late maternal grandfather.

Kim Joo-won of the Korean baseball team was found to have played the warm-up match amid foreign injury. He could have returned to Korea, but he remained in Japan due to his parents' dissuasion, and hit a dramatic tie-breaking home run in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 2 to imprint Kim Joo-won.

Kim Joo-won played full-time as shortstop in two warm-up matches against Japan at Tokyo Dome in Japan on the 15th and 16th.




Kim Joo-won, who also had a hit in the top of the ninth inning in the first game on the 15th, became a hero in the second game on the 16th. He hit a tiebreaking right-center solo shot against Japan's Daisei Otani after two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, trailing 6-7.

Daisei is a sidearm pitcher who throws fast balls. In 62 games this year, he had 8 wins, 4 losses, 1 save, 46 holds, and a 2.11 ERA. Japanese national team coach Hirokazu Ibata raised Daisei to the bottom of the ninth inning, and Daisei caught Moon Bo-kyung and Moon Hyun-bin with a fast ball in the mid-150km range to make it two outs. Kim Joo-won came out as the last batter, and a miracle happened.

In the ball count of 1B1S, he rolled up the fastball from the third pitch to the low strike zone in the middle of 155km and hit it properly enough to know it was a home run.




Kim Joo-won's tiebreaking solo shot ended the game in a 7-7 draw. It was Kim Joo-won who saved his team just before the 11th consecutive defeat against Japan.

Kim Joo-won said in a postgame press conference, `I knew Daisei was a good pitcher. "It was two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, but when I entered the batter's box, I decided not to be the last hitter and focused, but fortunately, I think I hit it well because I threw a real pitch."

Miracle tie solo shot Kim Joo-won's tearful press conference. My maternal grandfather didn't go to the funeral and stayed in Japan
2025 K-Baseball Series warm-up match between South Korea and Japan held at Tokyo Dome, Japan on the 16th. With two outs and no runners in the bottom of the ninth inning, Kim Joo-won is running around the ground after hitting a tiebreaking solo home run. Yonhap News
Miracle tie solo shot Kim Joo-won's tearful press conference. My maternal grandfather didn't go to the funeral and stayed in Japan
2025 K-Baseball Series warm-up match between South Korea and Japan held at Tokyo Dome, Japan on the 16th. With two outs and no runners in the bottom of the ninth inning, Kim Joo-won is shooting a tiebreaking solo home run. Yonhap News
However, Kim Joo-won couldn't speak with tears in his eyes at the second question. When reporters learned that his maternal grandfather passed away when he came to Japan, they asked him about it. Kim grabbed the microphone to answer, and tried to speak while holding back tears, but couldn't continue. Tears formed in my eyes before I knew it.

Coach Ryu Ji-hyun gave him time to calm down by handing over water, but Kim Joo-won couldn't keep talking and eventually decided to give him time, and coach Ryu Ji-hyun was asked another question.

Kim Joo-won, who had time while holding back tears, said, `I heard it the day after I entered the country, and my parents told me to focus only on the game,' and `I thought I would send my grandfather through play because I couldn't send him myself. I said I would concentrate on the game that much more and pour everything I had, but I think I sent my grandfather well because I had a good result in my last at-bat."

Let's say Kim Joo-won imprinted his name on the fans as a national team player with this home run. "I've grown a little bit more in the batting area than when I came to the national team before, and I was also curious about how he would do it on the international stage"I played well in my last at-bat, but I lacked the process and results in the previous at-bat. If I can supplement it and wear the national team uniform again, I want to fight in a better way," he said of his determination.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.