MLB.com reported the news of the joining ceremony for Shim Jun-seok held at PNC Park, the home stadium of the Pittsburgh Pirates, on the 27th (Korean time) and expressed it like this. When Shim Jun-seok appeared in the press room, local media could not hide their excitement.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a prominent magazine in the Pittsburgh area, also reported in detail the scene of the initiation ceremony, saying, ‘Shim Jun-seok, who is ranked 10th in the MLB pipeline international prospect list and has infinite potential, was born in Korea and after a long journey, he has come one step closer to his major league dream’.
MLB.com said, ‘Shim Jun-seok, who signed an official contract with the Pirates as an international free agent, will be looking down at the ground and drawing the moment when he can call this baseball stadium his office someday in the spring and summer.’
Shim Jun-seok finally became a member of the Pittsburgh team. At the initiation ceremony, he said, “I have a long way to go. I’m very happy to be here. It’s a moment I’ve been waiting for and I want to throw it here someday. I’m excited about all these moments.” I wanted to,” he said.
Pittsburgh also posted three photos of Shim Jun-seok’s initiation ceremony on the team’s Twitter and wrote in Korean, “Shim Jun-seok, welcome to the Pittsburgh Pirates.”
It was in 2020, when he was a freshman at Deoksu High School, that Pittsburgh started to take an interest in Shim Jun-seok. Max Kwan, head of the Pittsburgh player development team, decided to recruit him after watching a pitching video of Shim Jun-seok uploaded on YouTube by an Asia-Pacific scout, and observed all of Shim’s games afterwards.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said, “His fastball in the late 90s goes up to 100 mph, and his sharp curveball as well as his changeup are excellent.” The Pittsburgh scout met Jun-seok Shim’s family and guided him through his upbringing plan and how to develop into the major leagues.”
Pittsburgh general manager Ben Sherington commented on Jun-seok Shim’s schedule for this year on the same day, “After taking classes in the Dominican Republic for a certain period of time, he will be transferred to Bradenton, Florida. And when the minor league Florida Complex League (FCL) starts, he will join the team.” said.
After training in the Dominican Winter League, he participated in Bradenton Spring Training in Florida in March and joined the FCL Pirates, a rookie league, when the season begins. Shim Jun-seok makes his American baseball debut on a non-Single-A rookie team, but it doesn’t seem like it will take him long to get promoted to Single-A.
Pittsburgh seems to have a clear blueprint for developing Shim Jun-seok as the team’s fireball ace. Since Gerrit Cole left in 2018, Pittsburgh has been hovering in the bottom half of the National League Central without a decent ace. As Shim Jun-seok takes Cole as a role model, the club plans to spare no support.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said, ‘Jun-seok Shim admired Gerrit Cole as a child. Comparing their physiques and powerful pitches, it makes sense. Still, Shim Jun-seok says he is not as hot-tempered as Cole on the mound.”
Koldo had an average fastball speed of 95-96 miles during his minor league days, and was 6 feet 4 inches (about 1m93) the same height as Shim Jun-seok. Cole averaged 97.8 mph last year and averaged 101.9 mph on his fastball. 메이저놀이터
Cole, who joined Pittsburgh with the first overall pick in the first round of the 2011 draft, finished two years of minor league classes and went up to the big leagues in 2013 to grow into a fastball ace representing the major leagues. After passing through the Houston Astros, he transferred to the New York Yankees in 2020 for a huge sum of $324 million.