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| The baseball players of Wondong Middle School in the southeastern city of Yangsan, 310 kilometers southeast of Seoul, pose for a photo with their fists clenched at the school's ballpark on Tuesday. It's the alma mater of Samsung Lions rookie Kim Seong-yoon who drew media frenzy on Sunday for his first home run in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League in a game against the SK Wyverns at the Lions ballpark. Kim is the first Wondong graduate to become a KBO Leaguer. / Korea Times |
Baseball program saves school from shutdown
By Kang Hyun-kyung
YANGSAN — Samsung Lions rookie Kim Seong-yoon, 18, has generated much buzz for his phenomenal two-run homer off SK Wyverns pitcher Scott Diamond in the third inning at the Lions ballpark on June 18. It was his first homer in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) League since he was drafted by the Lions this year.
A physical trait has mainly driven the media frenzy about his home run. At 163 centimeters high, he is 20 centimeters shorter than the average KBO player and is in fact the shortest player in the league. In the media, Kim is depicted as a fearless young baseball talent who has overcome a physical drawback through relentless practice.
The Lions rookie and his epic game on Sunday have thrilled the student athletes in his alma mater — Wondong Middle School in the southeastern city of Yangsan. Kim is the first Wondong graduate to become a KBO Leaguer.
A sense of excitement was felt on Tuesday in the rustic rural school nestling snugly in front of Mount Cheontae near Nakdong River, 310 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
"His home run was unbelievable," said Lee Seung-heon, a third-year student and a pitcher of the school's baseball team.
He said Kim has ignited his optimism about his future career. "I was convinced if I continue to work hard, someday I can be a great player like him," Lee said. "He's such a short player, but his physical disadvantage didn't stop him from hitting a home run, which is amazing."
Lee is an aspiring Major Leaguer and views the KBO as a stepping stone to his ultimate career goal of playing in the Major League in the United States.
Lee said his role model is Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta. According to him, he and Arrieta are similar in their pitching styles and body structure. "He is as tall as I am. My weapon is a slider, and so is his. He is a right-hander, and I'm a right-hander, too," he said.
Kim's home run in the Lions-Wyverns showdown on Sunday was the second time he stole the show. His phenomenal diving catch in the game against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on June 8 was another epic moment that wowed baseball fans and the student athletes of his alma mater. If the Lions outfielder missed the ball, the club would have had a hard time winning the highly competitive game.
His super catch impressed Lee Dong-hyun, another third-year student and an outfielder of Wondong's baseball team. "I read a newspaper article about him that quoted Kim as saying he hoped the ball hit by the Bears hitter to come to the left field so he could catch it," Lee said. "I was struck by his comment because we outfielders are usually nervous and feel pressure if we face such a demanding play. If we miss it and fail to outplay the hitter of the opposing team, we become the target of the harsh criticism that we broke the game."
Kim has been having a real impact on the students of his alma mater.
"Many of our students want to go on to Pohangjecheol High School next after they graduation here," Lee Sang-hoon, manager of the school's baseball program, said .
Pohangjecheol is also Kim's alma mater.
"The high school is popular here because our students are inspired by Seong-yoon and are trying to follow in his footsteps," he said.
Lions rookie Kim is one of the 13 founding members of the Wondong baseball program, which was launched in March 2011. The Busan native came all the way up to the city of Yangsan to seek his second chance to play baseball as a student athlete after he was eliminated in many tests by prominent baseball programs in his home city.
"Seong-yoon is short but has strong arms. He runs fast and has potential to be a power hitter," manager Lee commented. "He also has strong baseball skills. He is shorter than any other KBO players, but this doesn't matter because his strengths as a player outweigh his weaknesses."
The local residents are attached to Wondong Middle School's baseball program because it saved the school from shutdown.
Population decline
In 2010, only 31 students attended the school and the number was expected to fall further to 17 in 2012 when the second-year students at the time graduated. The school was poised to close down in accordance with the policy of the South Gyeongsang Province Office of Education. Under the policy, schools having 20 or fewer students are to be closed down.
The local residents and alumni of the old school, which was established in 1969, felt uneasy about its seemingly impending fate.
It was hard to believe the middle school was once crowded with students.
In the 1980s, it had 400 students, but the student population sharply fell in the early 2000s for several reasons. For one, some farmers and younger people had migrated to urban areas for jobs and better lives, leaving older people behind in the agricultural town.
The refurbishment project of the nation's four rivers, which included the nearby Nakdong River, further fueled local farmers' migration to the nearby cities.
These farmers used to make their living by growing and selling watermelons, strawberries and apricots. After the riverside development project was implemented in 2012 to fight drought and revitalize the local economy, some farmers, particularly those who lived in riverside areas, lost their places and territories because of the government's expropriation of their lands. These farmers migrated to urban areas for manufacturing sector jobs.
In the face of a decreasing student population, some members of the local baseball association proposed the creation of a baseball program in the middle school. They thought the baseball program would attract promising young baseball players from other parts of the region.
The baseball association contacted Heo Guo-yeon, chairman of the KBO Committee for Baseball Development, to help their idea move forward. They also met the counselors and mayor of Yangsan City to ask for their help to approve the plan to establish a baseball program there.
Their coordinated endeavors bore fruit in March 2011 with the founding of the baseball team at the middle school.
There are currently 20 baseball players in the middle school and 12 other students who only attend the school for coursework and do not belong to the baseball program.
The total number of students will rise to 44 in August as 12 more student athletes are expected to join the baseball program.
Manager Lee said inquiries from parents of children pursuing professional baseball as their future career have been constant. He said only one or two students out of 10 are allowed to join the baseball team.
"Parents prefer this school in part because of its unique environment," he said.
"Unlike schools in urban areas, here we have no facilities or devices that can distract student athletes from training because this is a rural area and the vast majority of residents are older farmers. Under such dull circumstances, our students are able to keep focused on training and practicing.
"Our students practice more and longer than those who are in schools in urban areas. Our baseball program is popular among baseball moms because of these reasons."
