Foreign hitter Yasiel Puig (35) of the professional baseball team Kiwoom Heroes has expressed a strong determination to lead the team to autumn baseball ahead of the 2025 season opener.
Puig is a powerful hitter who has a career batting average of .277 (834 hits in 3,015 at-bats) with 132 home runs, 415 RBIs, 441 runs scored, and 79 stolen bases in 861 Major League games, posting an OPS of .823. In 2022, he joined the KBO League by signing with Kiwoom and recorded a batting average of .277 (131 hits in 473 at-bats) with 21 home runs, 73 RBIs, 65 runs, and 6 stolen bases in 126 games, helping Kiwoom reach the Korean Series finals. After the season, he was embroiled in a lawsuit related to illegal sports gambling and ultimately failed to re-sign, but resolved the legal issues and returned to Kiwoom.
After recording a batting average of .400 (2 hits in 5 at-bats), 2 runs scored, and an OPS of 1.025 in 3 exhibition games, Puig has not participated in any exhibition games since the match against KT on the 10th due to muscle pain in his back. Manager Hong Won-ki dismissed concerns about a serious injury, but Puig's absence has turned out to be longer than expected.
Puig also missed the game against Lotte in the '2025 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League' held on the 18th at Gocheok Sky Dome and ultimately did not participate in the last game of the exhibition season. However, in a pre-game interview, he stated, "I have already participated in many practice games in Taiwan. I don't think exhibition games are very important, so there is no need to push myself. I will be well-prepared for the opening game."
Returning to Gocheok Dome for the first time in three years since 2022, Puig said, "I am so happy to be back at Gocheok Dome. I missed Gocheok Dome and I missed Korea. I missed Korean food and culture. I am glad to meet the fans again and happy to play baseball in front of the fans for another year."
Kiwoom won the Korean Series runner-up in 2022 when Puig was part of the team, but has remained at the bottom of the league for the past two years. Puig noted, "I don't want to talk about any specific goals yet. However, we have myself, Kenny Rosenberg, and Ruben Cardenas on our team. This year, we will definitely avoid finishing 10th. Even though Kim Hyeseong (Los Angeles Dodgers) and Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco Giants) are not here, I believe the young players can step up to fill that role."
"Many young players have come to me asking questions," Puig said, "Helping those players helps me as well. There are many players with really good energy, which motivates me to work hard too." He added, "I believe that the important thing in baseball is skill, not age. Young players can grow significantly if given the opportunity."
Puig emphasized, "Veteran players should not feel pressure toward young players. Watching the exhibition games, the young players have been performing well and producing good results; I hope this continues into the regular season. Of course, exhibition games and the regular season are different. I will do my best to support the young players so they can continue to perform well during the exhibition games."
When asked about the prospect of facing James Neill (KIA), who had the lowest earned run average last season, Puig replied, "I haven't heard much about Neill. It doesn't matter to me who comes. I will handle whatever Neill throws." He continued, "I believe it's important for our team to not finish last. I also need to fulfill my role. My goal is to hit many home runs and bring many players home."
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