On the afternoon of the 31st of last month, Baegunpo Sports Park in Nam-gu, Busan. While dozens of athletic club members were enjoying their own sports, there were only two players wearing ‘Busan Nam-gu’ baseball uniforms. Jang Soon-jae, coach of the Busan Namguri Hill Baseball Team, who made an appointment with the reporters of the International Newspaper that day, said, “There are originally three students in the athlete team, and one of them went on a school trip. He was shy, saying, “Is it okay (reporting) when there are only two of us?”

This baseball team has a total of 6 players (3 each for players and hobbyists). It is the smallest number among 14 little baseball teams in Busan. The population of Nam-gu in Busan is not particularly small. In the aftermath of Corona 19, another youth baseball team appeared in the area, and the number of players decreased significantly. Coach Jang said, “There were up to 80 players before the corona,” and “the size has been reduced for various reasons, and currently토토사이트, due to a lack of personnel, we form a union team with the Yeongdo Guribeul Baseball Team to train and compete. I can’t even dream of practicing team play,” he sighed.

Director Jang founded the baseball team in 2009 with Park Jung-tae, the “legend” of the professional baseball Lotte Giants, and chairman of the Rainbow Hope Foundation. Starting with winning the ‘Haedonggi National Little Baseball Championship’ within 4 years of its founding, it achieved remarkable results such as winning the Domino’s Pizza National Championship in the same year. It has also produced professional players. Joo Seong-won (Kiwoom) and Chun Hyun-jae (Kiwoom) are the main characters. There was also the club’s first female member. This is Park Min-seong (20), who is well known as the ‘one-two punch’ of the Korean women’s baseball team led by coach Yang Sang-moon. The national team recently competed in the Women’s Baseball Asian Cup and won a bronze medal, earning a ticket to the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Women’s Baseball World Cup.

Director Jang said, “I first met (Park) Min-seong in 2004, and she was in the 5th grade of elementary school at the time. She looked like a schoolboy, so I even asked her mother, who came with her,” he said. He also hit the bat better than most male students, so he became a clutch hitter for our team at once. He is said to be an ace in the national team, and I am really happy that he has grown up well.”

The current team’s main players are Lee Min-ho (12) and Jeong Hyeon-jun (13). As a pitcher, Lee Min-ho has good control and excellent breaking ball skills. He uses his curveball as a deciding pitch, and his slider and changeup are excellent. As a fielder, his feet are fast, so he has a wide range of defense and plays sensibly. However, his strength is weak, so his speed is not fast, and his ability to produce long hits is not good.

Although Jeong Hyeon-joon has only been in baseball for a year, he is evaluated as having great potential enough to surpass the team’s ace. His speed is fast because of the elasticity and flexibility of his body. He also has a good physique (176 cm, 72 kg) compared to his peers, so he has a high OPS after taking on the cleanup trio. Jung Hyeon-jun said, “His grandfather’s friend recommended that he play baseball, saying that he was big, so he started exercising. He definitely wants to debut as a professional player and meet Choi Jeong, whom he always respects.”