The Samsung Lions suffered a shock defeat in the first game after changing their closer. How should a young, new closer pitcher deal with difficulties?
On the 21st, Samsung suffered a painful end game against the KIA Tigers in Gwangju. It’s a pity because it was a game where Samsung seemed to have won everything. In the beginning of the 5th inning, Jose Pirella’s RBI and Oh Jae-il’s 2 RBIs resulted in Samsung succeeding in a 3-1 reversal, and kept the lead ever since. By the beginning of the ninth, Samsung had a 4-2 lead.
With the two-run save situation, manager Park Jin-man lowered Woo Kyu-min before the bottom of the 9th inning and raised Lee Seung-hyun, the closer pitcher. He is Samsung’s new closer. Samsung recently changed their closer. It was a great decision and determination. This is because, no matter what anyone says, Samsung’s closer is Oh Seung-hwan, the undisputed guardian.
Even after returning from the major leagues, Oh Seung-hwan, who had been playing only as a closer at Samsung, was uneasy at the beginning of this year’s season. With every run he lost, a decision was finally made. For now, Lee Seung-hyun, left-hander, will be in charge of finishing, and Oh Seung-hwan will throw from the middle.
Head coach Park Jin-man announced a sudden replacement of the closer pitcher ahead of the Gocheok Kiwoom Heroes match on the 20th, and regarding Oh Seung-hwan, he said, “It seems that he has lost his confidence. He is not able to throw his own ball. thing,” he said. In the match against Kiwoom on the 20th, Samsung suffered a complete defeat 1-6, so there was no chance for a finishing pitcher to come out.
And the first game in which ‘finisher Lee Seung-hyun’ started.스포츠토토 But it was difficult from the start. Hit by first batter Lee Chang-jin, walk by second batter Socrates. Lee Seung-hyun, who faced veteran hitter Choi Hyung-woo in a dangerous situation with 1st and 2nd base safely, allowed a three-run home run with a 146km fastball thrown into the third pitch. It was not just a simple home run, but a 3-run home run to end a come-from-behind match with two runners, so the shock was even greater. KIA players, including Choi Hyeong-woo, jumped up and cheered immediately after the home run, but the Samsung players on the first base bench remained frozen as if they had been hit in the back of the head. It was such a big shock. The aftermath of the new closer being unable to keep the two runs and hitting a walk-off home run was beyond imagination.
Of course, this is just the beginning. Lee Seung-hyun boasts the best pitch in the bullpen, but he was born in 2002 and is still a young player in his third year as a pro. Samsung made a great decision. It’s a pity to start, but for Lee Seung-hyun, it should be a nourishment for him to grow through this bitter experience.