He doesn’t want to miss his first All-Star or Asian Games. ‘Changwon Idol’ and ‘NC jersey sales king’ Kim Joo-won will be hunting two birds with one stone this summer.
It’s a surprise No. 1. Kim Joo-won is ranked No. 1 in the all-star shortstop category for Nanum (NC Kiwoom LG KIA Hanwha) in the fan voting for the 2023 KBO Shinhan Bank SOL All-Star Game, which began at 10 a.m. on May 5. He received 30,756 votes in the first 12 hours of voting.
It’s only the first day of voting, and the results of the players’ votes will have to be taken into account before the final selections are made, but Kim’s rise is certainly notable. He stood out from the pack. He beat out Kia’s Park Chan-ho by more than 10,000 votes, while LG’s Oh Ji-hwan, a national team member and last year’s Golden Glove winner, received more than 20,000 votes. The hearts of baseball fans across the country are turning toward Kim Joo-won.
On April 4 against LG, Kim helped NC sweep the weekend series. He hit a two-run double in the second inning to seal the 3-1 victory. He said, “I wasn’t happy with my swing, but I was lucky to go to a good pitch. When we needed to score runs, I had a chance and it was good to get it done.”
Since it was just one day before the All-Star voting, we asked him to make a ‘self-promotion’ and, as if he was prepared, he said, “I’ve been seeing a lot of 먹튀검증 videos of Japanese high school switch-hitters on social media lately. I’ve gotten a lot of calls from fans asking me to do it if I go to the All-Star Game. If I’m selected, I can provide a highlight.” The NC PR team also offered to provide a lamb’s ear helmet.
Even without his switch-hitting specialty, Kim is a fascinating player. Kim Joo-won is one of the favorites to be selected for the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games in September. There aren’t many infielders in their early 20s who play as consistently as Kim. “When I go to the All-Star Game, I don’t want to take it lightly, but I want to show that I work hard and do well in the game,” Kim emphasized.
The Changwon Idols are the No. 1 selling jerseys in NC this year. Being selected as an All-Star is a chance to make a name for himself in the national league. Kim Joo-won said, “I’m still a long way from representing the team. I would be honored to be selected as an All-Star,” he says with an embarrassed smile.
The way things are going, that moment of glory could soon be a reality. “I’m going to try my best in all the remaining games and show a lot of effort to do something. I’ll do my best to show that I’m trying to do something.”