"Fireball Baseball 2" officially kicked off with 207 applicants.
On the 4th, Studio C1's "Fireball Baseball 2" aired, and with the selection of new members, the Fireball Fighters' new journey began.
Earlier, it was reported that 207 applicants flooded the public recruitment for the Fireball Fighters' roster, drawing attention. Even in a situation where the videos sent by applicants totaled six hours, manager Kim Sung-keun calmly responded, "I was prepared for that."
In the first-base institutional sector, which was judged first, legends of first base representing the KBO such as Lee Dae-ho, Jung Hoon and Oh Jae-il all gathered, drawing attention. In the shortstop institutional sector, the most competitive among fielder positions, spirited young guns caught the eye. Kim Jae-ho sent three different self-introduction videos and appealed, "I really want to be recognized by the manager," but he only received the bittersweet comment, "That's batting .100."
As other applicants also failed to leave a deep impression and the mood in the judging room sank, manager Kim Sung-keun began to take an interest in university player Lee Si-won and Yoo Tae-geon, who showed neat hitting.
Meanwhile, the veteran applicants' strong performances were also remarkable. Park Yong-taek hinted at an uneasy evaluation while appearing satisfied with his hitting, but manager Kim Sung-keun praised him, saying, "No one has ever hit like this until now," attracting attention.
Among the pitcher applicants, the oldest, Song Seung-jun, also proved "legend never die" with his unfaded skills. Watching the video with sparkling eyes, manager Kim Sung-keun quietly left a short, striking comment in his notes: "fifth starter," arousing curiosity about the final roster.
After a grueling 12-hour evaluation, a total of 44 primary document passers headed to the second individual test site. Among applicants struggling with the pressure of actual play, Shin Jae-young won manager Kim Sung-keun's favor with perfect control and use of breaking balls. In the outfielder tests that followed, Choi Soo-hyun, Moon Kyo-won and Hyunbin of Daeduk College received passing marks from manager Kim Sung-keun.
Meanwhile, manager Kim Sung-keun brightened up when he saw Lee Dae-ho, who attended the first-base individual test. When Lee Dae-ho was told he was the only surviving first-base applicant, he was greatly embarrassed and laughed, saying, "There are no players—if you eliminate them all," provoking laughter. He also appealed to manager Kim Sung-keun for Jung Hoon, who had played baseball with him.
Episode 2, which will be released next week, will feature the final hurdle to select the Fireball Fighters, the "in-house scrimmage." Who will survive the head-to-head battles between applicants who set aside past reputations and compete solely on current ability to ultimately wear the Fighters uniform?
[Photo] broadcast capture
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