“I really want to be recognized by the manager.”
The first journey of ‘Fire Baseball 2’ for the 2026 Fire Fighters has officially begun.
The first episode of the baseball variety show ‘Fire Baseball 2’, released on May 4th via the official Studio C1 YouTube channel, showcased the Fire Fighters as they reorganized their ranks.
With a staggering 207 applicants for the open recruitment, the show’s popularity is already heating up. Manager Kim Sung-keun committed himself to finding new faces for the Fire Fighters, stating, “I’m prepared for that,” even when faced with a marathon screening process involving six hours of footage.
In the first-base category, legendary names who once dominated the KBO League, such as Lee Dae-ho and Jung Hoon, appeared one after another, leaving viewers in awe. Manager Kim Sung-keun set strict standards and provided sharp feedback, building anticipation for the tense selection process ahead.
The shortstop position saw the fiercest competition, featuring ambitious young players. Kim Jae-ho tried to impress by sending three different versions of his introduction video, saying, “I really want to be recognized by the manager,” but only received the bittersweet evaluation: “You hit .100, don’t you?” As the atmosphere dipped because other applicants failed to leave a strong impression, Manager Kim began taking interest in college players Lee Si-won and Yoo Tae-gun, who showed sharp hitting skills.
Meanwhile, the performance of older applicants was also noteworthy. Park Yong-taik seemed anxious as he appeared satisfied with his own hitting, but Manager Kim gave him high praise, saying, “Not a single kid has hit like this until now.” Song Seung-jun, the oldest pitcher applicant, proved that “legends never die” with his unrusted skills. Watching with sparkling eyes, Manager Kim quietly wrote the short but powerful comment “5th starter” in his notes, ramping up curiosity about the final roster.
After a grueling 12-hour screening, 44 applicants who passed the first document round headed to the second individual tests. While some struggled under the pressure of the actual test, Shin Jae-young captured Manager Kim’s heart with perfect control and breaking balls. After the test, Manager Kim shouted at Shin Jae-young and Lee Dae-eun, “Run! Why are you sitting there?” which led to laughter as they wondered, “Since he told us to run, does that mean we made it?” In the subsequent outfielder tests, Choi Soo-hyun, Moon Kyo-won, and Hyun-bin from Daedeok University received passing marks from Manager Kim.
Manager Kim’s face lit up upon seeing Lee Dae-ho at the first-base individual test. Lee Dae-ho was flustered to hear he was the only first-base applicant left, causing a burst of laughter when he joked, “There will be no players left if you fail everyone.” As players who catch Manager Kim’s eye continue to emerge, interest in the birth of the 2026 Fire Fighters is growing.
Next week’s episode will feature the final hurdle: an internal “Blue vs. White” scrimmage. Fans are eagerly waiting to see who will survive the head-to-head battle, where applicants set aside their past fame to compete based solely on current skill, to wear the Fire Fighters uniform.
The first episode of ‘Fire Baseball 2’ proved its popularity by recording a peak of 157,000 concurrent viewers. The team will play its third game of the 2026 season on Sunday, May 17th at 2 PM at the Gocheok Sky Dome against Hanyang University, the winners of the 2025 National University Baseball Championship. Tickets can be reserved via yes24 on Wednesday, May 13th at 2 PM.
