Actor Yang Kyung-won is generating hot buzz among baseball fans.
Yang Kyung-won appeared as the ceremonial first pitch pitcher at the KIA Tigers vs. Hanwha Eagles game held on the 18th at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field. Earlier, in the drama "Crash Landing on You" he won great love for his role as Pyo Chi-soo, and he is also famous among baseball fans for his resemblance to KIA Tigers center fielder Kim Ho-ryung.
So he offered a special sight even before the ceremonial first pitch. Before the game started, he appeared first as an outfielder wearing a KIA Tigers uniform alongside Na Sung-bum and Oh Sun-woo in place of Kim Ho-ryung. After the national ceremony ended, he handed off to Kim Ho-ryung in the dugout, making onlookers smile.
Later, standing on the mound as the ceremonial first pitch pitcher, Yang Kyung-won said, "Every game is precious and valuable, and I sincerely thank you for inviting me to this position as the ceremonial first pitch pitcher," and "I'm lucky in life. Today I will throw my luck to the KIA Tigers along with the first pitch," and energetically threw the ball.
Yang Kyung-won's first pitch was flawless. The caster and commentators were full of praise, and even Kim Ho-ryung, who was watching from the outfield, was surprised. After completing the pitch, Yang Kyung-won channeled Pyo Chi-soo and gave a salute to Kim Ho-ryung. Kim Ho-ryung, who has a reputation for being introverted, returned the salute to Yang Kyung-won, drawing laughter.
Regarding this, a field official told OSEN, "Na Sung-bum escorted actor Yang Kyung-won to the center of the stadium and asked him how it felt to be standing here. I understand actor Yang Kyung-won said, 'I'm very nervous and I feel very good.' He felt a lot of gratitude toward the kind and warm Na Sung-bum," the official hinted.
About the meeting between doppelgänger Kim Ho-ryung and Yang Kyung-won, they explained, "Actor Yang Kyung-won had only seen Kim Ho-ryung on TV, so meeting him in person felt amazing and delightful. He really liked Kim Ho-ryung's boyish vibe. The salute performance was an idea suggested by Kim Ho-ryung, and on that wide stadium field, Yang Kyung-won seemed proud and reassured by the salute Kim Ho-ryung gave him."
Thanks to how remarkably similar the two looked, the atmosphere at the venue was warm from before the game started. After the first pitch, Yang Kyung-won stayed in the stands and enthusiastically enjoyed the game, and he and Kim Ho-ryung exchanged the salute ceremony again after Kim Ho-ryung's hit. Despite Yang Kyung-won's fervent cheering, the KIA Tigers unfortunately lost.
A field official said, "Actor Yang Kyung-won received baseball coaching and practiced separately for the first pitch; I heard he carried a baseball every day trying to get familiar with it. On the day of the first pitch, Kim Ho-ryung personally coached actor Yang Kyung-won," adding, "He watched the game gripping his hand in suspense until the bottom of the ninth inning, but felt great disappointment at the result. He expressed a wish to come again if his luck gets even better."
Meanwhile, Yang Kyung-won debuted in 2010 in the musical Broadway 42nd Street and won the public's warm love in 2020 for his role as Pyo Chi-soo in the tvN drama "Crash Landing on You." He later showed a distinctive presence in "Hi Bye, Mama!", "Vincenzo", "One Day", "Big Mouth", "Welcome to Samdal-ri", "The Plotters, the Enchanted", "Judge from Hell", and "Love, Take Two".
[Photo] Capture
[OSEN]