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Kim Hyun-soo takes a crack at batting as visitor in his home stadium

Published: 28 Mar. 2026, 14:40

KT Wiz’s Kim Hyun-soo steps up to the plate during a preseason game between the LG Twins and KT Wiz held on March 16 at Suwon KT Wiz Park in Gyeonggi. [YONHAP]

Kim Hyun-soo opened his 19th season in Korean baseball at a familiar stadium in an unfamiliar uniform Saturday.

Kim signed with the KT Wiz as a free agent in November, following eight seasons with the LG Twins. Before that, Kim had played 10 years with the Doosan Bears.

The Twins and the Bears share Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul as their home. And the Wiz are facing the Twins for the season-opening, two-game weekend series here, making this Kim's first appearance at Jamsil as a visiting player at 38 years old.

"Of course, it felt awkward to come here as a visiting player, but I will try to see it as just another game," Kim told reporters in a pregame media scrum. "I used to give Opening Days a lot more meaning when I was younger. But I learned over the years that if you exert too much energy on Day 1, it can ruin the whole season."

Kim helped the Twins to Korean Series titles in 2023 and 2025, and he was named the MVP of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) championship series last year. He is the first player to switch clubs in the same year after winning the Korean Series MVP award.

Kim said he was looking forward to seeing Twins fans again.

"I'll be lucky if I don't get booed," Kim said with a smile. "No matter what the reaction is, I will take off my helmet and bow the best I can."

Despite losing Kim, the Twins are still considered a title favorite this year. The Wiz, no stranger to postseason play themselves, will try to give the Twins a run for their money, with Kim among their several offseason signings for the club firmly in the "win-now" mode.

"I don't think the Twins got any worse at all just because I left. I never really stood out," Kim quipped, though he batted .306 and gave the Twins 751 RBIs in the 2018-2025 period — more than any KBO player in those eight seasons. "I just want to show that we have a great team here at KT as well."

Kim recalled that he became too emotional for his own good when he first faced the Bears as a member of the Twins. This weekend, he will try to keep his emotions in check.

"I am trying to stay composed and to focus on the game at hand," Kim said. "It doesn't matter how well I play today, though. I just want to win the game."

Kim then added with a wry smile: "I have this feeling that I am going to be terrible at the plate today. I think I will be trying too hard to win."

As much as Kim knows Twins pitchers, including Saturday's starter, Yonny Chirinos, he said facing them in the box will be different than seeing them from his spot in left field or first base.

Plus, Chirinos and others never gave 100 percent when they pitched to Kim in scrimmages or live batting practices, Kim added.

"So basically, I've never faced these guys before," Kim said. "I will see the types of pitches I've never seen from them from the box. When I do make contact, I just hope that my former teammates don't make sliding catches and make me look bad."

Yonhap