The KT Wiz of the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) have been plagued by the loss of their main outfielders this season. The loss of “Assault Captain” Choi Sung-ho to slumps and injuries, and the loss 스포츠토토 of leadoff hitter Kang Baek-ho to mental issues, left huge holes. However, KT has been filling the void without much trouble. The backup Kim Min-hyuk has been swinging the bat consistently, and Ahn Chi-young, 25, has performed beyond expectations after a long period of obscurity. Ahn Chi-young’s performance is particularly pleasing. After joining KT in 2017, Ahn was an unknown quantity with only 26 first-team appearances until last year .This season, however, she has been a force to be reckoned with, batting .282 in 40 games.”I was thinking about which player to use for the outfield vacancy, and I gave Ahn Chi-young a chance because he has a sense of hitting,” KT manager Lee Kang-cheol said on July 7. “It’s not easy for a second-team player to take advantage of the opportunity given to him, but I’m happy that he’s performing well.”Ahn, who graduated from Cheonan Bukjung and Cheonan Bukil High School, joined KT with the 51st overall pick in the second round of the 2017 rookie draft.An infielder, Ahn struggled to break into KT’s starting lineup. He didn’t play a single game with the first team in 2018 and struggled in 2019, batting .167 in five games. He was drafted in 2020 with no results .Instead, Ahn worked as an industrial technician at a factory producing electric vehicle battery parts in Cheonan, Chungnam Province .”Living outside for two years, my desire for baseball grew,” Ahn said on June 6 at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul. “Especially when I watched KT’s 2021 championship in Cheonan on a live broadcast, my heart was racing. I wanted to be a part of the victory,” he said. In February 2022, Ahn Chi-young was released from the national team. She switched to the outfield. “At the time, I felt that I needed to change, and the second team recommended that I change my position,” Ahn said. “I literally thought it was my last chance and trained with my teeth.” “At some point, I gained confidence,” he said, “and I realized that if I kept working hard, I might get a chance one day, and I might be able to take it. “Opportunity comes to those who prepare. Ahn received the call to the first team on June 3. It was her first first-team call-up in about four years after the 2019 season .Ahn was not nervous. He thought he could just do what he had prepared .On June 3, the day of his call-up, Ahn started in right field as the No. 9 hitter in a home game against the Doosan Bears at Katie Weeds Park in Suwon, and did his job, going 1-for-3 with a double, a single, a walk, and an RBI .She also earned a passing grade for her physical play on defense. Ahn also had a hit in the next day’s game and recorded her first multi-hit game (two or more hits in a game) with a two-hitter against the Lotte Giants on June 6.At some point, Ahn became indispensable to the KT organization .”I still have a lot to show,” he said, “but right now I’m just happy. I want to survive until the end somehow, and I want to continue to play in the first team next year and the year after .When asked if his parents would be happy for him, he said, “They’re not as shy as I thought,” adding, “I think they don’t express it because they think it puts pressure on their son. They’re probably 스포츠토토 happier than anyone else behind the scenes, and they’re watching every game with bated breath.” “If I do a little better, I think my parents will be able to express their joy without hiding it,” said Ahn, who vowed to stay in the first team until the end of the season.