The muscle man of the Korean professional baseball team KT Wiz, Ahn Hyun-min, launched a massive home run into the space reserved for the league's top sluggers like Park Byung-ho, Kang Baek-ho, and Mel Rojas Jr.
Ahn Hyun-min started as the third designated hitter in the season's seventh game against the Kia Tigers at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 30th, achieving 1 hit, 1 home run, 1 RBI, 1 run, 1 walk, and 1 hit by pitch in 2 at-bats, leading the team to a 3-1 victory.
In the bottom of the first inning, he walked, and in the bottom of the third inning, he was hit by a pitch, achieving a multi-on-base early.
Despite being in a disadvantageous count of 1 ball, 2 strikes, Ahn Hyun-min connected on the fourth pitch, a high 147 km/h fastball from Kia's starting pitcher Kim Do-hyun, hitting a giant 132-meter home run. It was the moment he reached 9 home runs for the season, following his debut off-field grand slam the day before.
Ahn Hyun-min's home run ball landed in the ENA Home Run Zone established in the center field of KT. The ENA Home Run Zone is a space prepared by KT since 2022 for small business owners, where if a KT player hits a home run into the ENA Home Run Zone, a donation of 10 million won for local small businesses is accumulated for each home run.
Until now, the ENA Home Run Zone was a space reserved for the league's top power hitters, such as Park Byung-ho, Kang Baek-ho, Rojas, and Jang Sung-woo. However, Ahn Hyun-min became the first player in the 2025 season to send a ball to the ENA Home Run Zone, showcasing his tremendous power. Ahn Hyun-min also garnered significant attention for hitting his debut home run in the ENA Home Run Zone on June 19 of last year.
Before the match against Kia on the 31st, manager Lee Kang-cheol noted, "It’s really fun when Ahn Hyun-min is out. I thought it went over the moment he hit it yesterday. The ball headed toward the center, allowing us to donate as well," he laughed and added, "At this rate, he might receive the May MVP. Didn’t he hit 9 home runs in May? But our team also had Oh Won-seok do well in May. Our starting pitcher has 4 wins and an earned run average of 1 in May. SSG's Anderson also performed well, but we need to consider efficiency against his salary."
According to KT officials, Ahn Hyun-min's impressive performance in May has led to a flood of interview requests from media outlets. The ranking for KT uniform markings is currently Ko Yong-pyo, Kang Baek-ho, and So Hyung-jun, but Ahn Hyun-min's jersey sales have surged to the point of threatening the top three. Ahn Hyun-min's era is indeed beginning.
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