A rookie player who caught attention for having a similar batting form to major leaguer Lee Jung-hoo had a dream-like day, hitting a single on the day of their call-up to the first team.

Doosan Bears rookie infielder Kim Jun-sang (23) started as the ninth second baseman in the eighth game of the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League season against the KT Wiz at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 28th, recording 1 hit in 4 at-bats and 1 walk, contributing to the team's 12-3 victory.

Manager Lee Seung-yeop made a bold decision to exclude first basemen Yang Seok-hwan and Kang Seung-ho from the starting lineup to significantly change the atmosphere of the recently stagnant batting lineup before the game. Instead of Yang Seok-hwan, outfielder Chu Jae-hyun took on the role of first baseman for the first time in 1,074 days since the June 19, 2022, game against the SSG Landers while he was with the Lotte Giants, and rookie Kim Jun-sang, who came from the youth player program, was introduced as the second baseman.

Regarding the decision to assign a position in the infield to an unknown player with no experience in the first team, Manager Lee Seung-yeop noted, "Kim Jun-sang's performance in the second team was outstanding. Although he is a rookie, he has a .500 on-base percentage and good metrics for ball speed. We will need to see how he performs in this situation, but it would be good for existing players to feel a sense of crisis that if they can't perform, they won't be able to play in the next games."

Kim Jun-sang is a promising talent who graduated from Yooshin High School and Dongui University and joined Doosan as a rookie in 2025. In 29 games in the Futures League, he posted a batting average of .358 with 7 RBIs and 19 runs, along with an impressive slugging percentage of .415, on-base percentage of .507, and OPS of .922, and was thrilled to be named a regular player and start in the lineup on that day.

The Doosan Futures team provided positive evaluations, stating, "Kim Jun-sang is a rookie who joined this season, embodying both diligence and tenacity. He has particularly strong points in batting and base running, and his batting form is similar to Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco Giants), demonstrating an impressive ratio of strikeouts to walks because he knows how to wait for the right pitch."

Manager Lee Seung-yeop expressed hope, saying, "Reports on Kim Jun-sang's contact ability have been coming in continuously. In our team, we have many strikeouts and stranded runners. We needed a player with good contact, so I called him up. I want to see first-hand what kind of player he is and how hard he practices."

Although he made his first hit in the first team, it was not a personally satisfying debut for Kim Jun-sang. He said, "Since it was my debut, I felt regret in every aspect. There must have been expectations for me, however, I think I failed to show it well. I will take today’s experience to display a better performance moving forward."

After the game, Kim Jun-sang stated, "I was nervous to be on the starting lineup for my first call-up, but I tried my best to focus only on the game without thinking about anything else." He added, "I got my first hit in the third at-bat. It came on a good pitch, and I was lucky to hit it. I felt a lot of regret from the first two at-bats, which motivated me to be more aggressive in my swings."

Kim Jun-sang, who had endured the hardships of being an unknown player, was barely able to join the professional team as a developmental player. Therefore, his call-up to the first team and first hit on that day were especially meaningful.

Kim Jun-sang expressed gratitude, saying, "To be honest, when I first joined as a developmental player, I was worried that I wouldn’t get many chances, but contrary to my worries, General Coach Nimura really believed in me. Thanks to that, I feel like I have received a good opportunity today. I want to take this moment to express my gratitude."

Although he hit his first single in the first team, Kim Jun-sang found his debut unsatisfactory. He remarked, "Since it was my debut, I felt regret in every aspect. There must have been expectations of me, but I believe I didn’t show it well. I will use today as an experience to demonstrate a better performance in the future."

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