KIA Tigers’ “Baby Tiger” pitcher Yoon Young-chul made his first win of the season from his first appearance of the season. It was more impressive because he solved the off-season task of raising the ball speed and caught the “natural enemy” Doosan Bears under the full crowd in Jamsil.
Yoon started against the Doosan Bears in Jamsil on March 31 and contributed to his team’s 9-3 victory by allowing three hits, five strikeouts and one walk without allowing any points in five innings. Yoon posted a maximum speed of 141 km/h and an average speed of 140 km/h, up about 3 km/h from last year’s average speed of 137.6 km/h.노래방알바
“(Yoon) Young-cheol has maintained that level of speed since the exhibition game. I think he will be able to continue playing this season while maintaining enough speed. He could drop 2-3 kilometers per hour in the summer, but he is a player who can fully demonstrate his capability depending on circumstances. I believe he will throw well as the fifth starter,” KIA manager Lee Bum-ho told reporters ahead of the game against KT WIZ in Suwon on April 2.
Yoon visited the U.S. Driveline during the off-season and sought to increase ball power and ball speed. “I didn’t pay much attention to ball speed but just paid attention to the result of my first game. I don’t think it will change dramatically immediately after I return from the U.S. As it is still early in the season, I might have been in such a tight race. I will be able to say that I have grown up only when this trend continues until the second half of the season,” he said in a mature manner.
He also sharpened and polished new weapons. By installing a new weapon called the cutter, Yoon allowed many poor hits by opposing hitters from his first appearance in this season.
“The pitch that I wanted to throw since high school was a cutter. It wasn’t easy to throw, but I learned a lot in the U.S.,” Yoon said. “I practiced a lot because I thought I would have an advantage in inducing a ground ball against right-handed hitters. I feel that I worked well in the actual game as well. If I had no anxiety, I wouldn’t have used the cutter in the actual game, but I had that much confidence,” he nodded.
In his speech after taking the mound for the first time, he said, “I matched the ball according to the reaction of opposing hitters.” His remark showed how clever he is when it comes to so-called “Baseball Intelligence.”
Yoon said, “I started mixing balls with other hitters by watching their reactions from a young age. I tend to envision combinations of balls during a game, watching the reaction and gestures of the batter when he throws a ball, and whether the timing was late or early if he was hit by a bat. First of all, I want to learn basic power analysis data but try to improvise on the mound through my gut feeling. When exchanging autographs, I throw only the balls that I want to throw.”
Coach Lee Bum-ho expects Yoon to play the role of starting pitcher who can easily block five innings. Yoon also wants to play responsible for five innings as Lee expects.
“As a starting pitcher, of course, I want to throw one more inning,” Yoon said. “I think I can take responsibility until the sixth inning if the number of pitches is good, but if the number of pitches increases due to the situation of the game, I throw the ball responsibly to prevent even five innings as much as possible. I try to focus more on each inning, thinking this is the last one.”
Yoon said, “I enjoyed the first game I threw under the crowd at Jamsil Stadium.” The Korean Series stage, which can be staged one day, is also expected to be a mound where Yoon can enjoy rather than nervousness.
“It’s fun when the crowd is full. How many times would I throw the ball under the packed crowd in Jamsil?” Yoon said with a smile. “I enjoyed throwing the ball while receiving huge cheers from KIA fans. I often imagine throwing the ball in such an atmosphere in autumn baseball or the Korean Series later on. I think I can still have fun throwing it then.”