While watching the rookie draft at home, a surprise selection in the second round made headlines as the rookie caused a major incident just two games into their first team debut.
Doosan Bears rookie pitcher Choi Min-seok made his starting debut in the 8th game of the season against KT Wiz in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 28th, with a strong performance of 5 innings, 4 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, and no earned runs on 85 pitches, claiming his first victory.
After the game, Choi Min-seok said, "The field players supported me well, and they provided a lot of run support, so I was able to pitch comfortably. I think it was less burdensome since they scored 4 runs from the first inning."
Choi Min-seok, a right-handed prospect who graduated from Seoul High School, was selected by Doosan with the 16th pick in the second round of the 2025 rookie draft. When Doosan selected infielder Park Jun-soon in the first round, Choi Min-seok was honored as the first pick for pitchers. With a fastball reaching the upper 140 km/h range and solid control, Doosan had planned to draft him in the upper rounds from the beginning.
With a signing bonus of 1.5 billion won, Choi Min-seok showcased an overwhelming performance with a 0.75 earned run average over 4 games in the Futures League (12 innings, 1 earned run), firmly impressing manager Lee Seung-yeop. Choi Min-seok was designated as a replacement for Choi Seung-yong, who had a broken nail, and made his first team debut as a starter on the 21st against SSG Landers, showing potential with 4 innings, 2 hits, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts, and 3 runs (2 earned).
Choi Min-seok said, "I was disappointed with my debut, but I was satisfied with the fact that I confidently threw my pitches. I think I was a bit excited at the time, so I tried to pitch more calmly this time." He added, "Senior Yang Eui-ji's help was also significant. In the last game, my breaking balls didn’t go for strikes, and he told me that if I could effectively place my breaking balls today, I could have an advantage, so I focused on that."
He added, "Coaches Kwon Myung-chul and Oh Noe have given me a lot of good advice in the Futures League, and that helped me a lot today."
Choi Min-seok showed signs of suddenly losing control in the bottom of the 5th with one out remaining for a victory requirement while leading 6-0. After two outs, he walked Park Min-seok, gave up a hit to Hwang Jae-kyun, and walked Kim Min-hyuk on a full count, creating a bases-loaded crisis. Fortunately, he managed to retire Ahn Hyun-min with a flyout to right field, completing 5 scoreless innings as Doosan secured an emotional debut win with a 12-3 rout.
A rookie's starting win in their debut season for Doosan hadn’t happened in 2,965 days since Kim Myeong-shin, who had 5 innings and 2 earned runs against the NC Dinos on April 15, 2017. This year, the only rookie who also achieved a starting win in the league was Jung Hyun-woo (Kiwoom Heroes), the overall first pick.
Choi Min-seok remarked, "I should have maintained my focus throughout the game in the 5th inning, but I think I struggled because I had distracting thoughts. I couldn't focus on my situation and kept recalling the 6th and 7th innings." He smiled as he said this.
Choi Min-seok was not invited to the 2025 KBO rookie draft held last September. Before the rookie draft, KBO selects players expected to be picked early and invites them to the venue, but Choi Min-seok's name was not among them. As a result, Choi Min-seok had to watch his name being called in the second round on TV, rather than in person.
After exercising their second-round selection, Doosan contacted a coach at Seoul High School, Choi Min-seok's alma mater, to locate him. Fortunately, Choi Min-seok's home was just a 5-minute drive from the venue at Lotte Hotel World, and after receiving the call from the Seoul High School coach, Choi Min-seok quickly changed into his Seoul High School uniform and dramatically arrived at the rookie draft venue to take a glorious 'two shot' with Park Jun-soon.
Choi Min-seok noted, "Since the rookie selection was so dramatic, I feel good about my first win, but I think I was even happier during the rookie draft."
Choi Min-seok is a Seoul High School alumnus along with Kim Young-woo, who was selected 10th overall in the first round by LG Twins, and Kim Dong-hyun, selected 9th overall in the first round by KT. Fireballer Kim Young-woo is having a successful season with 1 win, 1 loss, and 1 hold with an earned run average of 1.77 over 23 games in the first team, and Kim Dong-hyun has been drawing attention as a next-generation starting resource to lead KT since spring training. Watching his friends, Choi Min-seok nourished his dream of debuting in the first team and was the first among the three to taste a starting win.
Choi Min-seok expressed, "I felt good seeing my friends do well. I didn't have any negative thoughts. I also worked hard to receive attention quickly. I’m not a fireball pitcher, but my control is good, so I think the coach believes in me and keeps using me. I’m grateful for that."
Finally, when asked about his next goal after achieving his first win, Choi Min-seok stated, "My goal for this season was to make it to the first team as soon as possible, and long-term, to avoid injury and have a successful year. It looks like I’ve achieved my goal, but it’s a bit ambiguous. I think I need to stay in the first team longer." He added, "I have a desire to maintain my starting position, but as a rookie, I will do my best with the tasks I’m assigned."
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