Sports are attractive because they are touching. The story of a 28-year-old unknown pitcher, which is not well known even among baseball fans, touches the heart.메이저사이트
Lee Sang-kyu (28, Hanwha Eagles) took the mound in relief in the bottom of the ninth inning when the two teams faced the Doosan Bears 6-6 in Game 14 of the season at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 24th, and pitched 21 pitches in two innings without a hit, allowing one walk and two strikeouts to win.
It is the joy of victory that I enjoyed for the first time in four years, three months, and 1553 days since the KT Wiz match on May 24, 2020, when I was with the LG Twins. And it is one win that cannot help but come in a special meaning to Lee Sang-kyu because of many turbulent events.
He was drafted by LG in the 70th place in the second round of the seventh round in 2015, but he was registered in the first division only in 2019. In May 2020, he was in the closing position without Ko Woo-seok and had a beautiful month with two wins, four saves and one hold average ERA of 1.46, but that was it. Since then, he has added three losses and finished ERA with 6.68.
He only played in seven games in 2021, and never received a call-up for the first team in 2022. Eventually, he had to switch to a nurturing player just ahead of the 2023 season. Since then, he was called up by the first team and re-registered as an official player, showing potential, but his position at LG, where the bullpen is strong, seemed to be missing. He only played in eight games.
Since then, he has been excluded from LG’s 35-member protective list and entered the second draft market, and Hanwha, which needed to strengthen its bullpen, brought him in with a reward of 400 million won. In his sixth year as a pro, his annual salary this season is 44 million won. Considering that he is overflowing with players with an annual salary of 100 million won and the minimum annual salary for rookies is 30 million won, this is an amount that shows how hard he has been going through so far.
Only after Kim Kyung-moon took office in June did he finally get a chance in the first division. He also displayed stellar performance in 22 games with 2 wins, 1 loss, 3 saves, 4 holds and ERA 3.28, and is eventually being called up again in August to publicize his presence in earnest.
The process of winning was like a drama, too. Leading 2-0 now, Hanwha allowed a 2-2 tie and ran away again in the seventh inning, but allowed a come-from-behind victory by allowing four runs in the eighth inning. In the process, both the must-win bullpen Kim Seo-hyun and the closing pitcher Lee Sang-kyu took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning to block Doosan’s attack.
He allowed a walk to his first batter, Jeong Su-bin, and was rushed to second base with one out due to a sacrifice bunt. He filled the first base with four pitches on automatic intention, avoiding a match against Yang. He persistently engaged in an outside cutter fight against Yang Seok-hwan, leading the catcher to foul fly. He also led Kim Tae-geun to a ground ball to the third baseman, leading the game to extra time.
After allowing one run in the top of the 10th inning, the batters took the mound again to secure victory with their own hands. The team gained more strength. They focused on fastballs against Kang Seung-ho and Jeon Min-jae, and both struck out swinging using high fastballs. They also faced off Seo Ye-il with strength. Again, Ryu threw a fastball and a catcher’s foul fly to lead the team to two consecutive wins.
Coach Kim Kyung-moon said after the game, “Even after allowing the reversal, the players united and won the upset victory in a position that did not give up until the end. I want to praise all the players and congratulate Lee Sang-kyu, who became a winning pitcher after a long time.”
Lee Sang-gyu, who served as the main character of the interview with a broadcasting station, shed tears and cried when asked by MBC Sports+ commentator Lee Sanghoon Lee. He couldn’t speak for a while and chanted “Don’t cry” in the audience.
Later, I met with the reporters and heard the reason through his mouth. Lee Sang-kyu said, “The Sanghoon Lee asked me how I feel now, so I got emotional without realizing it.” He had won and saved experience during his time at LG, but it was when the game was played without spectators in the aftermath of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19). “At that time, I didn’t feel this because I didn’t have fans, but in a way, I think I was emotional because I felt this for the first time,” he said.
It went through a difficult time. “I thought I would fail because I was a nurturing player once. I thought a lot, ‘Am I getting fired now?'” Lee said. “It’s different because I overcame that and came here to have this happen in a place where many fans are watching.”
When I heard that he was going to Hanwha, I felt like the sky was collapsing. “I cried a lot at first. In a way, I was very sad because I was excluded from the LG entry,” he said. “It was okay to come here and start over with good people. I thought that crisis is opportunity.”
Although the core bullpen pitchers had collapsed, Lee Sang-kyu said, “I didn’t think about such things. There were more days when I couldn’t throw my own ball on the mound, so I just thought about throwing my own ball,” adding, “The manager and coach always told me to throw it with confidence because I don’t want the result from you,” so I just thought about throwing it with confidence. “He told me to throw it with confidence because it’s not that the ball is bad, but that the result is bad because I wasn’t confident,” he explained about the situation before taking the mound.
The first thing that came to mind at the moment of victory was manager Kim Kyung-moon and pitching coach Yang Sang-moon, who believed in him and gave him a chance. “I thought the coach and coach put it up like this and that I should repay him. I’m so grateful that you used me with confidence, and I wanted to give you faith because I blew Ryu Hyun-jin’s victory once last time,” he said. “I want to say, ‘I did it,’ and ‘Coach, I love you.’ “
He also expressed his gratitude for his enthusiastic fans’ support. “I felt it when I was on another team, but I felt it again that I was so passionate, and I was so excited because the fans cheered me so happily and strongly like ‘I’m happy’,” he said.