The KBO League in the 2024 season was an all-time hit.

Korea has opened an era of 10 million spectators for the first time in the history of Korean professional sports. A total of 10,887,705 people attended 720 regular-season games. The average attendance was 15,122 people, an all-time high. The entrance income for the 10 teams was also a record high at 159.31 billion won.메이저놀이터

Rookie players' surprising performances are also a factor in the popularity of baseball. Kim Taek-yeon (Doosan Bears), who swept the Rookie of the Year award at various award ceremonies since the end of last year's season, played in a total of 60 games with three wins, two losses, four holds, 19 saves and an earned run average of 2.08. He became the closing pitcher of his team in the middle of the season, living up to expectations and growing into the future of Korean baseball.

Among the fielders, Park Ji-hwan (SSG Landers) stood out. Park was ranked 10th in the first round of the 2024 rookie draft. He played 76 games during the regular season, leaving four homers, 63 hits, 21 RBIs, 33 runs and eight steals with a batting average of 0.276.  

Hwang Joon-seo of the Hanwha Eagles became the winning pitcher from his first game as a professional baseball player. This is the record of winning the 10th high school graduate debut game in the KBO League. Hwang Young-mook of the Hanwha Eagles, who was famous as a cast member of the "strongest baseball" before joining the professional league, caught the attention of KBO league fans with his solid basic skills and defense skills.

This year, a number of rookie players with outstanding skills wore professional uniforms. Who are the notable rookie players.

"I will grow into a hero"...Complete Left-Handed Pitcher, Kiwoom Jung Hyun-Woo

Among pitchers, Chung Hyeon-woo (Keeum Heroes) is drawing attention. Chung wore his dream professional uniform as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 KBO Rookie Draft held in September last year.

Chung is called a "completed left-hander." During his high school years, Chung was evaluated as an impeccable pitcher. His record also proves that he pitched 48 ⅓ innings in a total of 16 games, winning eight games, and striking out 70 with 13 walks. His earned run average (ERA) was just 0.58.

Therefore, attention was paid to which team Chung Hyeon-woo would head to during the draft. In the end, Kiwoom, which had the right to select Jung in the first round, called him without hesitation. "After observation since June, Chung was selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the rookie draft," Kiwoom's general manager Ko Hyung-wook said at the time. "He is the only player who stands out when evaluated comprehensively."

"I will grow into a hero," Chung said, drawing cheers from Kiwoom fans. "The team that I wanted to be nominated the most was Kiwoom," Chung said in an interview after the draft. "I watched the game and I like it. The players I really want to see are Kim Jae-woong and Kim Dong-heon, seniors of Deoksu."

However, Chung was excluded from the list of Kiwoom`s first spring camp, which was recently announced. He has yet to fully recover his physical condition, which is why he could not accompany him. However, he should not be disappointed. Coach Hong Won-ki had earlier declared that he would give Chung an opportunity to compete so that he can take the starting mound.

"I can tell by looking at 5 balls"…Exceptionally proud catcher, Lee Yul-yea from SSG

SSG has high expectations for rookie catcher Lee Yul-yea. He hopes to grow into a star player in the era of "Cheongna Starfield Dome." Lee Yul-yea wore an SSG uniform as the eighth overall pick in the rookie draft.

He used to be considered the best catcher. Lee Yul-yeh has been a key catcher for the Korean youth national team since he was a sophomore at Gangneung High School. In high school baseball last year, he played 23 games and recorded 27 hits, two homers, 27 runs and 16 RBIs in 69 times at bat. His batting average reached 0.391.

Regarding the reason for calling out Lee Yul-ye, SSG's general manager Kim Jae-hyun said, "I have been a key catcher since my second year as a youth representative. I highly appreciated the performance of players who I do not know well by evaluating their strengths and weaknesses." "We will make Lee a star player by opening the era of Cheongna Starfield Dome in 2028," he said.

Lee Yul-ye's strongest point is his strong shoulders. He boasts pop time of late 1.8 seconds on average. He is also widely known for his excellent defense capability. Some say that he can play in the first division games right away.

He also has extraordinary pride in the catcher's position. After the nomination, Lee Yul-ye said, "The equipment worn by the catcher looked really cool. It is attractive that he is only looking at the other side of the ground." He said, "I fell in love with these points, so I became a catcher and I think I played baseball harder."

Lee made the roster for the first team spring camp. Lee will sweat a lot for the upcoming season in Virovich, Florida.

"The ultimate goal is the Rookie of the Year."People's Choice, Doosan's Park Jun-soon

We can't help but look forward to Park Joon-soon (Doosan), who is the first outfielder, as well. Park was drafted by Doosan in the sixth place overall in the first round.

Park Jun-soon, a graduate of Deoksu High School, bullied opposing pitchers by displaying outstanding batting performance since his high school days. He won batting, RBI and home run awards at the Shinsegae E-Mart Cup National High School Baseball Competition in April last year, and was named MVP of the competition. He also won the batting and MVP award at the Golden Lion.

The prediction that Park Jun-soon would be named first among fielders was not wrong. "I chose the first infielder for the first time in a long time. Park Jun-soon is a five-tool player and is the best fielder of the year," Doosan's general manager Kim Tae-ryong said. "We expect Doosan's infield to be a player who will take charge of Doosan for 20 years."

Doosan needed a young infielder. Up until last year, veteran players in their mid-30s, including Yang Seok-hwan, Kim Jae-ho and Huh Kyung-min, took the main posts.

Maybe Park Jun-soon will have a chance sooner. Shortstop Kim Jae-ho announced his retirement after the last season, and Heo Kyung-min, who was watching third base, moved to KT Wiz. Manager Lee Seung-yeop plans to leave the third base to second baseman Kang Seung-ho.