“He pitched well, and I’m looking forward to seeing how he grows”
Ryu Jung-il, head coach of the South Korean National Baseball Team, is pleased with the gutsy pitching of Young Guns. The right-hander struck out a whopping 18 batters in two games against the Major League Baseball (ML) powerhouse Los Angeles Dodgers and their archrivals San Diego.
Team Korea, led by manager Ryu Jung-il, fell 2-5 to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a special game of the Major League Baseball World Tour’s Seoul Series 2024 at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea, at 7 p.m. on April 18.
The game was characterized by strong pitching performances. Nine different pitchers took the mound, with six pitching scoreless innings. With the Dodgers’ bats at their best, starter Kwak Bin Kwak pitched two innings of one-hit ball with two walks and two strikeouts. His fastball, which topped out at 96.3 miles per hour (155 kilometers per hour), was impressive as he went toe-to-toe with major league hitters. At the plate, captain Kim Hye-sung used his quick feet to score Korea’s first run, going 1-for-3 with a run scored, while Kang Baek-ho, Park Sung-sung, Choi Ji-hoon and Kim Sung-yoon each had one hit.
After the game, manager Ryu Jung-il said, “I’m thankful for the players’ performance in both games against San Diego and the LA Dodgers. I’m especially proud of (Kim) Taek-yeon and (Hwang) Jun-seo, two young players who pitched well against a big crowd and a major league team. I’m curious to see how they will grow in the future. They did a great job,” said Hwang.
Kim Taek-yeon’s pitching also shined. Kim, who graduated from Dongmakcho, Sangincheon Middle and Incheon High School, is a right-hander who joined Doosan as the No. 2 overall pick in the first round of the 2024 rookie draft. In his first professional appearance, Kim, who has a fastball that tops out at 153 kilometers per hour and a slider that averages 2300 rpm, drew attention at the spring training camp in Okinawa, Japan, where he pitched four games (4 1/3 innings) with one hit, no walks, eight strikeouts, and a 0.00 ERA. Before the game, manager Ryu Jung-il said, “They said his fastball is a five-seamer. I haven’t seen it yet. I think he’ll pitch today. The pitching coach said, “Let’s give the two rookies one inning. We’re trying to get them on the mound once in a while to face major league hitters.”
It was more than expected. Kim faced two big league sluggers last year, Teoscar Hernandez, who hit 26 home runs, and James Outman, who hit 23. Kim’s fastball, which topped out at 93.7 miles per hour (about 150.8 kilometers per hour), drew wasted swings from major league hitters. Teoscar swung wildly at a fastball that came over the top of the plate, and Outman couldn’t hit a 92.5 mph (148.9 km/h) fastball that came shoulder-high. His fastball was 카지노사이트 clocked at 2483 rpm, the highest of the day for either pitcher. After the game, LA Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “I can’t remember his name, but I remember a pitcher who made a really nice pitch to the outfielder. He was throwing fastballs to the top of the strike zone, and it was impressive to see.”
After the match, Kim said, “I decided to throw my ball and come down with no regrets, and I’m happy that I did. I was very nervous before throwing, but the more I threw, the more I relaxed and was able to throw my ball. I wasn’t happy to get the hitter, but I was happy to throw my pitches,” he smiled. “The outman swung at a fastball up the middle, so I think I had the advantage because he didn’t know anything about me,” he said, “and it’s nice to have the highest pitch count among good major leaguers.”
Now that Ryu has finished practicing with the major league team, he is preparing for the 2024 Premier 12 in November. “When the KBO League starts, I’ll be traveling around to each ballpark to observe the players. I’ve seen that the pitching is good through these two games. All of our starting pitchers are good. Last year’s Asian Games and APBC confirmed that the starting and middle pitchers are all good. I think the batting lineup is weak, so we’ll discuss with the Power Enhancement Committee and see what kind of players we can put in the lineup.”
