Rookie Jeong Hae-won (21) of the KIA Tigers had a tumultuous KBO league debut.

On the 5th, Jeong Hae-won was called up to the first team and started as the eighth right fielder in a game against the Kiwoom Heroes in the '2025 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League' held at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. He achieved a solid performance in his debut, going 1-for-3 with 2 runs scored and 1 walk.

In the second inning, with one out and runners on first and second, Jeong Hae-won stepped up to the plate and drew a walk, leading to the consolidation of a one-out bases-loaded opportunity. Subsequently, Park Jeong-woo delivered an RBI single, and Park Chan-ho recorded a two-RBI single, allowing Jeong Hae-won to score his first run.

In the third inning, Jeong Hae-won was retired on a strikeout and grounded out to third base in the fifth. In the sixth inning, with KIA leading 11-0, he stepped into the batter's box for his fourth at-bat with one out and a runner on second. He connected for a hit against left-handed reliever Yoon Seok-won, marking his first career hit.

However, this moment led to a problematic scene. After Park Jeong-woo struck out, Jeong Hae-won attempted to steal second base while Park Chan-ho was at bat. Kiwoom, who was completely unconcerned about the runner on first base, allowed Jeong Hae-won's steal, which was recorded as a 'nuisance steal.' First baseman Choi Joo-hwan showed signs of discomfort over this play, and ultimately, after the inning ended, Kim Sun-bin took Jeong Hae-won to the Kiwoom dugout to apologize together. KIA manager Lee Beom-ho was seen scolding Jeong Hae-won on the broadcast, and Jeong Hae-won was replaced by Lee Woo-sung during the bottom of the sixth inning.

In baseball, it is an unwritten rule not to attempt steals when there is a significant score difference late in the game. In the KBO league, there is an implicit agreement among players regarding this. However, Jeong Hae-won, amidst his impressive performance in his KBO league debut, ended up stealing a base, which was pointed out by the coaching staff and senior players.

Veteran Choi Hyung-woo commented on Jeong Hae-won's steal in a post-game interview, saying, 'We talked about it a lot. We apologize to (Kiwoom). That should never happen. It's a behavior that goes against etiquette. Jeong Hae-won came in today and got his first hit, and it seems he got excited. We’ve been discussing it continuously, and we also apologized. I hope there’s no misunderstanding on Kiwoom's side.'

After Jeong Hae-won's steal, Kiwoom did not make any significant appeals, so the situation did not escalate. There were no particular retaliatory pitches as well. KIA also clearly expressed their intention to apologize, bringing the situation to a close.

Drafted in the third round (22nd overall) of the 2023 rookie draft, Jeong Hae-won had an impressive performance in the Futures League with a batting average of .333 (27 hits in 81 at-bats), 2 home runs, 9 RBIs, and 24 runs scored in 22 games. He also left a strong impression in his KBO league debut. In the end, he made a mistake that broke an unwritten rule, resulting in an unforgettable debut that fluctuated between heaven and hell.

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