‘Korean Superstar’ Park Chan-ho congratulates his nephew, Kim Yoon-ha, on his first-round draft selection and shares his ‘tips’ for success in the pros.
Jang Chung-go right-handed pitcher Kim Yoon-ha realized his professional dream by being selected by Kiwoom Heroes with the ninth overall pick in the first round of the 2024 KBO Rookie Draft held at the Grand Ballroom of the Westin Chosun Hotel in Sogong, Seoul on April 14.
Kiwoom’s scouting team leader Lee Sang-won said, “Kim Yoon-ha has a strong shoulder that can throw the ball in the mid-to-high 140s and has a really good strikeout-to-walk ratio. We picked him because of his ability to control his pitches.”
The reason for this nomination is that Kim is the nephew of “Korean Superstar” Chan Ho Park. With 124 career wins in the major leagues in his DNA, he has shown his reliability in high school baseball this year, going 3-1 with a 2.77 ERA in 13 games (12 earned runs in 39⅓ innings). At the 78th Cheongnyonggi National High School Baseball Championship in July, he pitched three games with a 1.29 ERA (14⅓ innings, 2 earned runs), 19 strikeouts, and a 0.71 WHIP to help his team reach the semifinals.안전놀이터
“Being Park Chan-ho’s nephew is a bit of a burden, but I don’t think it’s necessarily a bad thing because I’ve been in the media a lot because of my uncle. “I’ve been called Uncle Chan Ho’s nephew a lot so far, but it’s good that I’m doing so well that people see me as my own person. I will work harder in the future and become a player who surpasses my uncle Chan-ho,” he said.
Park Chan-ho congratulated his nephew on his professional career through his social media accounts on the 15th, the day after the draft. Park wrote, “Congratulations. Congratulations to Kim Yoon-ha. It seems like it’s only been a few days since I started playing baseball, but you’ve already become a professional baseball player. My mother followed me so passionately and made it right. Mom’s power,” he wrote.
He added, “There’s a certain pressure of being the first pick of a professional team. He has a great coach in Kium, and I’m sure he’ll grow into an even better athlete than his mom raised him to be. I hope that the process of growth will always be accompanied by example, hard work, toughness, responsibility, passion, and constant challenge. Go Kim Yoon-ha!” and wished his nephew success as a professional athlete.
“By the way, there will be an even bigger player a few years after you, so stay tuned, he’s someone’s brother,” Park said, hinting at the imminent birth of another big prospect.