“I was told I pitched well because I’m a rookie”.
KIA Tigers rookie Yoon Young-chul (19) expressed his feelings after completing his debut season. He was proud of the fact that he completed the starting rotation full-time and injury-free from the first year. At the same time, he regretted that he was unable to throw good pitches in the second half of the season. He soberly rated his season at 50 points.
Yoon ended his season with a six-inning, one-run shutout against the Samsung Lions on April 8. After being dropped from the opening five starts, he appeared in 25 games and pitched 122⅔ innings, posting an 8-7 record with a 4.04 ERA. He made seven quality starts. He had a 1.40 WHIP and a 2.06 K/BB ratio.
While he didn’t reach the required number of innings pitched, he did reach the 10-win mark, which is pretty impressive for a high school rookie. In an interview before the game against the Kiwoom Heroes on the 11th, Yoon said, “It was great to finish the season as a rookie. I’m satisfied that I didn’t get hurt throwing full-time for the first time and went to the end.”
At the same time, he said, “It was harder and more difficult than I thought because it was my first year. Being in the rotation full-time was hard on my body, and my strength dropped in the second half. I had a lot of balls that weren’t strikes and a lot of pitches per inning. Toward the end, my pitches weren’t good and I got hit by long balls, including home runs, due to mistakes. I will prepare well and show my best next year. I will work hard on my physical training so that I don’t get tired,” he said.
When asked to rate himself, he said, “50 points.” “I was just told I pitched well because I’m a rookie. It’s not a good record. I’m more disappointed that I didn’t win 10 games than I am that I didn’t have a sub-3 ERA. It’s not good for next year or the year after. I’m not satisfied. I’ll make up for it little by little,” he said soberly.스포츠토토
Regarding the Rookie of the Year award, he said, “It’s good if you get it, but if you don’t, you just have to do well next year. I don’t care too much,” he said. Second-year Hanwha player Moon Dong-ju is a strong contender. The real rookie contender is Yoon Young-cheol. They have similar wins, but Moon has a higher ERA and Yoon has more innings pitched. It’s going to be a close race for Rookie of the Year.
For now, Yoon is staying with the first team and training with the seniors. He’s not pitching, but he’s focusing on physical fitness, including running and lifting weights. “So far, I’ve been focusing on what my coach tells me to do. I’m going to study a lot and find the exercises that work for me. I have an off-season plan to some extent. The details are still a secret,” he laughed.
She is not particularly concerned about her restraint, which has been pointed out to her as an issue. He’s not averaging 140 kilometers. “I don’t think about it yet. If I keep training and throwing, it will come naturally. I’m just going to work on the stuff now and focus on my fastball. I threw about five curves (during the game). I’m going to use it a lot when it’s ready,” he said.