Professional baseball Kiwoom Heroes Jang Jae-young (22) made a big mistake in base running by recording Nou's ball. 

Jang Jae-young started the game against the NC Dinos in the "2024 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League" at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 27th and recorded two hits and one walk in three at-bats. Kiwoom swept all three consecutive home games against NC and won three consecutive games. 

Jang Jae-young, who entered the batter's box for the second time with one out in the bottom of the third inning, got on base after being hit by a fastball from NC's right-handed starting pitcher Shin Min-hyuk at 137 kilometers per hour with five pitches. Bae then hit a pitch well, but was caught by center fielder Kim Sung-wook, and Jang, who advanced to second base, came to first base. Then, at Kim Jae-hyun's at-bat, Shin Min-hyuk did not pitch, turned back and threw to second base, and the second base umpire declared out. Jang had advanced to second base beforehand due to a fly ball to center field, but after the ball was caught, he hurriedly returned to first base without stepping on second base, resulting in a no-base hit. While trying to return to base, Jang tried to hit second base, but couldn't hit base as he rushed to first base. In the end, Kiwoom ended its offense in vain in the third inning. 

Jang Jae-young, who joined Kiwoom with the first draft pick, had high expectations as a top-rated prospect. Although he was talented in both pitching and batting during his amateur days, Kiwoom chose Jang as its pitcher, paying more attention to his talent for throwing fastballs that exceeded 150 km per hour. Kiwoom, who highly valued Jang's potential, gave him a down payment of 900 million won as a rookie. It is the second highest in KBO league history and the first in club history. However, Jang has recorded just one win, five losses and a 5.53 ERA in 56 games (103 ⅓ innings) over the past three years. He had been injured even before the opening of the season, and thus has not played a single game this year. 

Jang started rehabilitation in the Futures League but was told that he needed elbow surgery at a hospital, so he chose to switch to a batter and rehabilitation instead. Jang decided to change to a batter's box on April 19, and played as a batter for the first time in the Futures League on May 21. His performance in the Futures League was 232 percent batting average (16 hits in 69 times at bat), five homers, 13 RBIs, eight runs scored and OPS.810 in 19 games.  스포츠토토

Jang Jae-young, who also showed clear strengths such as power and speed, was called up to the first team faster than expected on the 20th, although he has something to complement both defense and batting. Jang Jae-young, who made his batter's debut against Hanwha in Cheongju, played with one hit, one run and two walks in two at-bats. In the match against Lotte on the 21st, he was silent with no hits in four at-bats, but on the 22nd, he hit his first home run in his debut, sending fans into a frenzy. This season, he has a batting average of 211 percent (four hits in 19 at-bats), one home run, two RBIs, and two runs and an OPS of .822.

Jang Jae-young is clearly proving his potential in batting little by little. The ratio of strikeouts per at-bat reached 43.5%, which still needs to be supplemented, but his natural power and slugging power are already shining. One of the four hits recorded in the first division is a home run and two are a double. Kiwoom is also paying attention to Jang Jae-young's potential and is steadily giving opportunities. 

However, he is showing his inexperience in both defense and baserunning. In the baserunning game on the day, he made a big mistake of 'Noo's ball,' and in defense, he caught the ball narrowly due to his belated judgment, before being shown receiving advice from Lee Yong-gyu. 

"I'm a starting player," Jang admitted, adding that he has many things to supplement. "I will try to become a player who can compete as an outfielder. My goal is to show what I can do at the ballpark. If I finish the game well without much incident, I think that's what I've accomplished my role. Rather than winning or losing my team because of me, my first goal is to do as well as I can," he said, stressing that he will focus on gaining experience and growing day by day rather than performing immediately.