He invested 34 million won (33,500 U.S. dollars) in six weeks to spend the most six times, but ruined half of his games. Whenever he takes the mound, he is not a foreign pitcher but experiences trial and error of starting five times in the 1.5th grade, and there is little hope for his remaining contract period. The best scenario is Brandon Waddell’s speedy return, but given the recovery, it also seems difficult.
Kisho Shirakawa, a short-term foreign pitcher of the Doosan Bears in professional baseball, started Game 12 of the season against the Kiwoom Heroes of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 25th, and suffered his third loss (two wins) of the season due to three hits, five walks, two strikeouts, and two runs in four ⅔ innings. Since moving to Doosan, he has been replaced early in three consecutive games, losing half of his six chances.
Shirakawa signed a short-term alternative foreign player contract with Doosan for a total of 4 million yen (about 34 million won) on behalf of Brandon, who left on the 10th due to a shoulder injury.
Shirakawa, a former ace in Japan’s independent league, entered the KBO League as a short-term foreign player for SSG Landers in May and proved his competitiveness with two wins, two losses and an ERA of 5.09 in five games. Excluding the Sajik Lotte Giants match (eight runs and seven earned runs in one ⅓) on the 7th, which suffered a brief trial and error, his ERA was around two points. He also received high marks for his appearance off the field, including his harmony with his teammates, and his attitude toward baseball.
After his six-week contract with SSG expired, Shirakawa extended his stay in Korea for six weeks as Doosan offered to recruit him. His salary also more than doubled from 1.8 million yen (16.2 million won) when he was working at SSG. Shirakawa moved from literature to Jamsil under a new mission of “filling the gap between Brandon and Kim for six weeks.”
Shirakawa, who already played three of the six games, is confident when playing at the SSG. Since moving to Doosan, he has posted two losses and an earned run average of 7.15 (nine earned runs in 11 ⅓ innings) without winning three games, four earned runs (two earned runs) in three ⅔ innings against the Samsung Lions at Jamsil Samsung Lions on Wednesday, five runs in three innings against the LG Twins on Thursday, and two runs in four ⅔ against the Gocheok Kiwoom Heroes on Saturday last week, failing to complete five innings in three consecutive games. Contrary to his assessment of his ball control as his strength, he pitched 15 pitches during the period. He has 14 walks and one pitch. 스포츠토토
Shirakawa, who is new to the pro league, has shown signs of faltering performance in games where spectators are crowded. At Sajik Stadium with 26,678 players on June 7, when he was playing at SSG, he bowed his head to Lotte with the worst pitching by allowing eight runs (seven earned runs) in one ⅓ innings, while 23,750 seats at Jamsil Stadium were also sold out in games against Samsung on July 13 and LG on July 19. Shirakawa has an ERA of 15.75 (14 earned runs in eight innings) in three games where more than 20,000 players have entered.
Shirakawa gave up only 10 pitches during 23 innings when he was playing at the SSG. However, he gave up 15 pitches during 11 ⅓ innings at Doosan Bears. Why did he become a completely different player? “The problem is ball control. If you have a lot of walks, you will naturally face a crisis,” Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop said at the match against Incheon SSG on Sunday. “I think you have more mental problems than skills. You can just throw it at ease, but I don’t think you are perfect at controlling your mind because you are young.”
The reason Shirakawa’s three-game performance is particularly disappointing is that he is not just an outsider but a short-term outsider. With Choi Ji-gang in Doosan’s must-win group receiving annual salary in six weeks, he has to play his part in at least four out of six games, but he has already failed in half. If this had been the case, it would have been better to hire a young pitcher in the team as the fifth starter to nurture him. In addition, Shirakawa’s early substitution in three consecutive games in July when the heat wave was raging had a significant impact on the bullpen’s overload.
In the current situation, the most ideal scenario is for Brandon to return earlier than expected. Then Shirakawa does not have to fill all six. Doosan is ranked fourth with only 2.5 games between the third and seventh places. In the future, NC Dinos, KT Wiz, and SSG must be prevented from chasing strongly, and stabilization of the starting lineup is an urgent priority.
However, Shirakawa is expected to leave Doosan after completing his entire contract period. “From now on, Shirakawa has to fulfill his entire contract period. Brandon started playing catch from Tuesday (23rd), so it will take some more time. Now that he is on catch after a four-week break, he cannot speed up his pace. The pain has disappeared, but he needs to slowly prepare for his comeback,” Lee said.
“We cannot change Shirakawa in the current situation, so we need to quickly identify the problem. Next time, we need to pitch better than yesterday (25th). That’s all we have.”
However, the outlook for the next game is not very bright either. Assuming that it is not raining, Shirakawa will take the mound in his fourth game on June 31 against the Kia Tigers. It remains to be seen whether he will be able to secure his first win at the end of all three games and four games against the Tigers, who are leading the team overwhelmingly. As an opponent of KIA, he had a memory of winning by allowing one run in five innings at Incheon on June 13 when he was playing at SSG.
“Since I couldn’t throw in three games in Jamsil, I think I can throw well if I move to another location. I also have good memories in the game against KIA,” Lee said. “I always try to think positively. I will do well at least once since I am leaving Jamsil.”