Right-hander Won Tae-in, the starting ace of the Samsung Lions, has produced the sweetest fruit in six years since his debut as a professional player this year. Veteran catcher Kang Min-ho, who worked hard as a strong assistant, told his story behind Won.메이저사이트
Won took the mound in 159 ⅔ innings in 28 games and recorded 15 wins and 6 losses with an ERA of 3.66 this season. He became the joint winner of multiple games in the league. While ranking first alone, he and Kwak Bin (Doosan Bears) won 15 games, and decided not to take additional mound to focus on the postseason.
It is the first time in seven years that a Korean pitcher has won multiple titles since Yang Hyeon-jong (KIA Tigers) in 2017. At the time, Yang had 20 wins each, ranking first in multiple wins with his teammate Hector Noesi.
Won Tae-in, who debuted as a first-round pick by Samsung in 2019, has been in the starting rotation for six years. It is his first time to win an individual title. He also broke the record for most wins in a single season. The previous record was 14 wins (seven losses and 3.06 ERA) in 2021.
Kang Min-ho has been playing battery with Won throughout the season. They have been a long-time partnership. After achieving his 15th win, Won said, “(Kang) Min-ho even took painkillers to participate in the game when his condition was really bad. Thank you.”
When asked about this, Kang said, “I think both the team and the coaching staff think that I should play (as a catcher) on the day Won Tae-in starts. They also set up the schedule accordingly,” adding, “Even when I was not able to play due to poor performance, Won always played as a starting player on the day of the game. That’s why I felt a sense of responsibility.”
“It is also a sense of responsibility for Won Tae-in. I like all the players, but Tae-in is a junior player that I feel more attached to,” he said. “He is good to me, so I want him to do better. I wanted to contribute a little bit, so I started the game with a sense of duty.”
Kang Min-ho also felt proud when Won’s first individual title was awarded. “Tae-in was doing really well in the early days of the season and suffered ups and downs for about a month or two. After the headshot exit game, he came to me and said, ‘Baseball is so hard. Baseball is not fun.’ He said, ‘Tae-in, this is all part of the process. Isn’t it a process for you to grow further?’ He recalled. “The ups and downs were long.”
Won roared with four wins and one loss and 2.10 ERA in six games between March and April. In May, he had one win and two losses and 3.77 ERA in five games, and in June, he had two wins and one loss and 3.86 ERA in five games. He tried to lessen the ups and downs. Then, on July 13 against the Doosan Bears, he allowed four runs in ⅔ innings and was sent off with a head shot. Not only did he become a losing pitcher, but his ERA soared from 3.16 to 3.53.
In the game against the Lotte Giants on July 20, he became the winning pitcher by allowing four runs in six innings. Since then, he has been on track. In the game against the KT Wiz on July 27, he garnered the win by allowing one run in six ⅔ innings. In the game against the SSG Landers on August 2, he garnered his first complete victory by allowing three runs in nine innings.
Kang Min-ho said, “Since then, I had one chance. Tae-in gave about five runs, but he became a winning pitcher.” “I told Tae-in at the time, ‘I think you’ll be good after this game.’ He really went straight from that game.” On Aug. 25, Won Tae-in won the starting pitcher’s victory against Lotte even after slowing down by allowing five runs in five innings.
He overcame the crisis and successfully finished a season. “The graph cannot rise throughout the year. However, it would be nice if Tae-in came down slowly when he fell,” Kang said. “I think that’s where he suffered mental breakdown. But I think he overcame it well and became the king of the game.”