Professional baseball Kiwoom Heroes infielder Choi Joo-hwan (37) is aiming for the new season by raising his batting sense in a Taiwanese camp practice game. 스포츠토토

Choi Joo-hwan started as the fifth batter's first baseman in a practice game against the Taigang Hawks in Taiwan's professional baseball league held at Cheongho Baseball Stadium, including Kaohsiung, Taiwan on the 2nd, and led Kiwoom to a 15-7 victory with three hits and two RBIs in four at-bats. 

At his first at bat in the second inning, Choi made a 3-2 come-from-behind victory by hitting a timely hit with two RBIs and a full base chance in the third inning. He had three hits until his infield hit to the first base in the fifth inning, and smiled broadly. 

After the game, Choi Joo-hwan said, "Now that we have about 20 days left in the season, we are increasing our concentration on the game. If we have focused on the process so far, we decided to increase our concentration at bat today, and I was happy to get a good result at the moment we needed it."

"I tried to concentrate as much as I could on the defense on the first base. Taiwan's ground is bound different from Korea's, so I have to pay more attention," he said. "More than anything, it's important not to get injured at this time of the season. It's a practice game, but my goal is to maintain concentration during a given inning and adjust my condition to display performance in earnest from the opening of the season."

Choi Joo-hwan came to Kiwoom through the second KBO draft held in November 2023. That year, he played as the main second baseman of SSG Landers and hit 20 home runs, but was released in the second draft market as he was excluded from the 35-member protected player list. It was unexpected for Choi Joo-hwan, but SSG, which was full of salary cap (competitive equilibrium), needed to clear up high-paid players. 

It was also unexpected to be in the second draft, but it was also unexpected that Kiwoom, which had the first overall pick in the first round, selected Choi Joo-hwan. I didn't know that Kiwoom, which started rebuilding with young players, would take Choi Joo-hwan, who was in his mid-30s, with a transfer fee of 400 million won in the first round. Hanwha, which then sought Choi Joo-hwan to strengthen the lineup with the second-place pick, was also caught off guard by Kiwoom's choice. 

Recognizing Choi Joo-hwan's performance, Kiwoom's choice for new and old harmony was effective. Last year, Choi had a batting average of 257 (124 hits in 482 times at bat) and 13 homers, 84 RBIs and an OPS of .715 in 130 games. Although he was a little disappointed as a full-time first baseman, he displayed strong performance in chances by batting around .308 in scoring areas and seven finishing hits. In the second half of the year, he marked a rebound in his performance with a batting average of .300 (65 hits in 217) in 59 games and six homers and 42 RBIs in OPS of .838. Despite ups and downs in hitting, he contributed to stabilizing the infield by displaying quality defense at the first base, away from his main position at second base. 

Another turnaround was waiting for Choi Joo-hwan, who became an FA after the season. After giving up the FA application, he signed a multi-year contract with Kiwoom on the condition of up to 1.2 billion won for 2+1+1 years. 600 million won was guaranteed for two years between 2025 and 2026, and the contract was automatically extended next season if the option was met. Kiwoom is in the midst of rebuilding, but it had to win to some extent and needed Choi Joo-hwan, the center hitter. He also recognized the team's leadership. 

Choi Joo-hwan, who has continued to accompany Kiwoom on decent conditions, is batting at the center four to five times in Taiwan's camp practice game. Kiwoom is the only team among the 10 teams to use two foreign hitters (Jaciel Puig and Ruben Cadines), but its overall batting power is still weak. Only when Choi Joo-hwan plays the role of troubleshooter at the center batting line along with foreign hitters can Kiwoom's rebuilding gain momentum.