Young pitchers who have been to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) are experiencing aftereffects. In the first appearance of the regular season, they struggled side by side in a sluggish swamp.
KT Wiz right-hander So-Jun Sohn and LG Twins left-hander Kim Yun-Sik, who participated in the WBC team, started both teams in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League match held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 2nd.
It attracted attention with a confrontation with a young starting pitcher, but the result was disastrous. Both pitchers were the worst in pitching and pitching. It was clear that his body had not fully risen yet. It didn’t improve at all from the anxious appearance at the WBC.
Joon Sohn threw 74 pitches in 2⅓ innings. However, after giving up 9 runs with 9 hits, 1 walk, 1 walk, 1 strikeout and 9 runs, he was demolished without even completing the 3rd inning. KT, who lost a lot of points in the early stages of Joon Sohn, belatedly pursued, but ended up kneeling with a score of 9-10.
On this day, So-Jun Sohn’s fastest ball speed stayed at 145km. Overall, he was only in the early 140km range. As his fast ball power declined, he used more than half of his sliders. However, as the ball was driven to the middle, he was beaten by LG batters.
Yunshik Kim was replaced after one inning. He finished pitching for the day by throwing 39 pitches, allowing 4 hits (1 home run), 2 walks and 2 runs. In the top of the first inning, he climbed the mound with 4 runs scored by the other line, but allowed 3 hits and 2 runs, including a two-run home run in left midfield by Anthony Alford.
In the bottom of the second inning, he did not throw a strike at all. After giving up a right-handed hit to lead batter Kim Min-hyeok, he allowed consecutive walks to Park Kyung-soo and Kim Sang-soo, putting him in danger of being loaded with the bases safely. Fortunately, relief pitcher Lim Chan-kyu kept three subsequent hitters scoreless, and the number of runs almost increased.
Kim Yun-sik’s highest speed stayed at 144 km. He also recorded an average speed of 141.3 km with a fast ball. Last year, his fast ball average speed of 142.5 km was more than 1 km lower. Even out of 39 balls, there were more balls (20) than strikes (19).
Sohn So-jun, born in 2001, and Kim Yun-sik, born in 2000, are the next-generation starting pitchers that Korean baseball expects. Joon Sohn, who won the Rookie of the Year title with 13 wins (6 losses) in 2020, recorded 13 wins (6 losses) and an average ERA of 3.05 last season, tying for 4th place in most wins. Kim Yoon-sik, born in 2000, also received 8 wins (5 losses) last year following 7 wins (4 losses) in the 2021 season, and received expectations as the next-generation left-handed starting ace.
However, So-Jun Sohn and Yoon-Sik Kim were scolded side by side at the WBC. I failed to raise my condition due to lack of experience. Joon Sohn played 2 games and gave up 2 runs in 3⅓ innings, and Yun-Sik Kim played against Japan but did not get an out count and gave up 3 runs, giving up 3 runs.
After returning to his team, he pitched slightly better in exhibition games. However, in the first game of the regular season, he showed his worst form again, putting the coaching staff and fans in trouble.
NC Dinos left-hander ace Gu Chang-mo, who participated in the WBC along with Sohn So-jun and Kim Yun-sik, also appeared as a starting pitcher against the Samsung Lions on the 2nd, but only regrets were left. He came off the mound in 4⅓ innings without filling the fifth after giving up 6 runs on 7 hits, 3 walks, including 1 home run.
Koo Chang-mo also participated in the WBC with high expectations,먹튀검증 but he did not contribute to the team at all, giving up 3 hits and 2 runs in 1⅓ innings in 2 games. Similarly, he failed to condition himself early in his preparation for the WBC. The aftermath continues to this day.
Among the young pitchers who participated in the WBC, KIA Tigers’ left-hander Eui-ri Lee came out as a starter against Munhak SSG Landers on the 2nd and allowed 3 runs (1 earned run) on 3 hits in 5 innings and became the winning pitcher. However, he was also not satisfied with the pitching content, giving up 6 walks.
There are also players who broke away from the front line at the beginning of the season. Woo-seok Ko, who finished the LG Twins, is expected to return to the mound only in mid-April due to shoulder inflammation. Setup man Jung Woo-young is also not in good shape. Although he is not from the Korean national team, KT’s bullpen core Ju-gwon, who went to the WBC as a member of the Chinese team, is still having trouble pitching due to elbow pain.
The 2023 WBC was left as a bad memory in Korean baseball. The tournament has already ended, but the aftermath is still haunting each team,