"If you come back to life, it's a great strength."

The defending champions of professional baseball, KIA Tigers, faced a shocking injury setback to their star hitter, Kim Do-young, in the opening series. They are now in a tough situation, having to play baseball without Kim Do-young for about a month. At the same time, there were meaningful gains on the mound. In the 2023 season, the untouchable left-handed ace, Choi Ji-min, pitched a hopeful performance.

In a critical moment during the opening game on the 22nd, when the team was losing 1-2, Choi Ji-min came in to save the team with one out and the bases loaded in the sixth inning. He struck out the pinch hitter, Jeon Jae-hwan, with a fastball on the outer part of the plate. He then struck out Kim Hyung-jun with a swing-and-a-miss on three pitches, overcoming the crisis. After a long time, he clenched his fist and roared. In the seventh inning, he allowed one hit but cleanly erased three outs.

Thanks to Choi Ji-min's stellar performance, they did not lose their momentum and achieved victory with a big bang, scoring eight runs in the eighth inning. Manager Lee Bum-ho noted, "It was very important to show what we could do early on, and he pitched well. If Ji-min comes back, we can utilize various relief resources from both sides, which will be a great help. Thanks to him, we achieved a come-from-behind victory. Other relief pitchers will also find their places."

He reached a maximum speed of 149 km/h that day. The outside strikes he threw were impressive. Since he is not at 100% yet, it is expected that he can exceed 150 km/h as the weather warms up. NC manager Lee Ho-jun also analyzed, "Ji-min tends to throw strikes toward the middle of the body. That day, many outside strikes came in, and it seems our hitters were unable to respond."

Choi Ji-min said, "I feel good about going up in a crisis situation and cleanly handling it with a Samjin and coming down. I was also satisfied with my velocity. It was significant that I was able to get ahead in the count. The ABS zone has also lowered a bit, and it seems I benefited from that. I worked hard on my weight training. I adhered well to the camp schedule, and I think the preparations up to the exhibition games led to the opening game result."

Last year had its ups and downs. Until the early part of last season, he was an untouchable ace. He allowed only one run in 15 games through April. In May, he recorded a 2.70 ERA in 13 games. However, he plummeted from June. His ERA rose to 9.43 after June. He made it to the Korean Series roster but did not pitch in critical situations.

"The mental aspect was the biggest issue. When things weren't going well, I tried harder. I needed to throw with less power for the ball to go well, but I was throwing with more power, which was very difficult. It's only one game. I need to continue pitching well for my anxiety to disappear. I have always done well in the early part of the season. I think I need to observe a few more games."

Through last year's failures, I found a way to overcome them. That day, no matter what happened, I decided to forget it without leaving a trace. "If a scoring situation arises or if the game turns around, I will only think of that day. The sooner I forget, the better. I tend to overthink on the mound. I try to forget by getting good rest and enjoying hobbies (like YouTube and OTT)," he stated.

He also took to heart the advice of veterans Choi Hyung-woo and Yang Hyun-jong. "Hyung-woo said, 'If you just throw strikes, the batters can't hit it, so why pitch disadvantageously?' Hyun-jong also said, 'Since your pitches are good, throw them into the strike zone.' Their advice has been helpful," he expressed gratitude. He added, "I hope to do even better this year and pitch in crucial situations in the Korean Series."

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