The Choi Dong-won Award weighs heavy in Kyle Hart’s hands when he picks it up.
Long and golden, its rectangular base supports a bespectacled pitcher at full stretch, just before he lets the ball go. Its namesake is one of the best pitchers in Korean baseball history, a man who once threw 17 complete games in a single season, and delivered 209 total pitches in a start in 1987.
The award is given annually, in honor of Choi, to the best pitcher in the KBO League, Korea’s highest level of baseball. For Hart, it represents many things: his season’s worth of hard work, his resilience and his willingness to bet on himself, and carve another major league opportunity for himself in 2025.
“I kind of have to remind myself how special these are, how many Korean players would cherish the opportunity to win these awards,” Hart told IndyStar. “I don’t take it for granted at all.”
A Cincinnati native, the 32-year-old Hart pitched at Indiana from 2012 to 2016. A part of the staff that delivered back-to-back Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles, as well as the 2013 run to the College World Series, Hart finished his college career with 31 wins over 59 starts, and 240 strikeouts in 340 2/3 innings pitched.
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Boston selected Hart in the 19th round of the 2016 draft, and he worked his way through the Red Sox system before reaching the big club briefly in 2020.
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After returning to the minor leagues, Hart spread three seasons worth of work across stints with Boston, Seattle and Philadelphia, never touching the majors again.
In that time, Hart’s agent routinely mentioned KBO interest. In the winter of 2023, it hardened into something real.
“Everybody kind of has asked me, ‘Was it a hard decision to make?’” Hart said. “The short and sweet answer is, it was the only opportunity I had at that point.”
The appeal ran deeper for Hart. Pitchers have in recent years had success going to Japan and Korea to boost their prospects.
“You kind of realize, hey, I could be a candidate for a good opportunity to not necessarily revive career, but maybe renavigate it a little bit,” Hart said. “We negotiated. It really didn’t take long.”
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Just before Christmas of that year, Hart’s agent returned to him with an offer. NC Dinos were offering $500,000, plus a $200,000 signing bonus and incentives.
Negotiations required some patience, simply because of the time difference. But it didn’t take long to hammer out a deal.
“(Hart’s agent) called me at like, 10:30 at night. He said, ‘Hey man, congrats, we have a deal. The only catch is, you need to be on a plane in two days to Seoul,’” Hart said, laughing.
Eventually, Hart, his wife and their daughter all moved across the globe to Changwon, the city on the southern coast of Korea that NC Dinos call home.
Hart thrived immediately. He made small adjustments, things like his arm slot, and NC Dinos’ pitching coach helped him dial in a sweeping slider Hart used to strike out a KBO single season-record 182 batters.
He finished with a 13-3 record, and a 2.69 earned run average. Injuries derailed NC Dinos’ playoff push, but his record-setting season landed Hart an award he proudly carries with him now.
“When I was in the moment last year, I’m just in the moment pitching, fighting, trying to put up zeroes,” Hart said. “It really does mean a lot. I wasn’t able to get over there for some of the ceremonies and stuff. But just seeing how much decorum and stuff goes into it, it made me really proud.”
It also put Hart in the frame for a number of major league clubs back in the States this winter.
Working patiently through free agency, Hart eventually signed a one-year major-league deal with San Diego. It includes a club option for 2026.
Hart said San Diego’s front office was “very transparent” with him throughout the process. The Padres didn’t make promises they couldn’t keep, but they guaranteed Hart every chance to fight for innings in spring training. They showed him the veteran network of coaches and former pitchers he could lean on to perfect what he’d improved in Korea. And, perhaps most importantly, they offered the opportunity to win — San Diego reached the National League Championship Series last year.
“I think there really is an opportunity for me to get a lot of work at the big-league level,” Hart said, “but the biggest (factor) was, I think this team really can go far this year.”
Hart’s focus now zeroes in on preparing for the upcoming season, and seizing that possibility San Diego put in front of him.
But he does allow himself moments — like he did the day he unboxed the trophies he’d won in Korea that were shipped to him here in the States — to reflect on his journey. From Omaha, to Tommy John in college, to that cup of coffee with Boston, all the way to Korea and back.
With all the teammates he’s had, and all the players he’s faced, Hart said he knows he’s lucky to still be playing baseball into his 30s, an opportunity he doesn’t take for granted.
“A younger version of myself probably would have,” Hart said. “I’m still playing and getting opportunities to play this game, any one of those guys could be in my shoes, back to college and all the way through the professional ranks.
Written by Zach Osterman
Full article can be found at: https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/college/indiana/2025/03/06/pitcher-kyle-hart-kbo-best-san-diego-padres/81378788007/