The reason why a foreign player’s contract is terminated during the season is that his performance is lower than expected. However, he held a farewell ceremony because he was so disappointed to say goodbye to him. The departing player could cry, but all the Korean players who were with him shed tears and grieved for their breakup.
Casey Kelly, the “Jamsil Jesus” of the LG Twins, broke up with the KBO League after the game against Doosan Bears in Jamsil, where no-game was announced on the 20th. LG has signed new foreign pitcher Elijah Hernandez and decided to announce Kelly’s waivers. Kelly, who has played for LG since 2019, has been an indispensable ace for LG. He has always led the team as the first starter and pitched well in the postseason.
Due to stellar performance, he renewed his contract for six years this year. He became the fifth foreign pitcher to play for six years. Not all players would be sad in tears even if they played together for a long time. That’s because he was a “good guy.”
He was different from other foreign players. He was always for the team, for the fans. He devoted himself to the team. 퀸알바
He pitched more than 100 innings for six consecutive years. He was the third foreign pitcher to throw after Daniel Rios (six seasons from 2002-2007) and Henry Sosa (seven seasons from 2012-2018).
I tried my best to throw as many innings as possible for bullpen pitchers in times of good pitching and bad pitching. He holds the new record of pitching in more than five innings in 75 consecutive games for the past three years, from May 16, 2020 to the game against Kiwoom in Jamsil (six innings) to the game against SSG in Incheon (eight innings) on July 28, 2022. Out of 163 starts, only six failed to pass five innings. In other words, 157 pitches he pitched in more than five innings. He pitched in 113 ⅔ this year, ranking first in his team and fifth overall in innings.
In September 2021, Kelly said she would not go on maternity leave to throw her son on the mound because she was born in the United States. At that time, KT and Samsung were competing for first place, so she gave up seeing her son for the team. Usually, foreign players go on vacation to the United States when their families have a family reunion, but Kelly was almost the only one who did not go.
In the 2022 playoffs, Kelly started in Game 1 and became the winning pitcher by allowing two runs in six innings. Then, he rested for three days and showed his fighting spirit to start again in Game 4, when the team was overwhelmed with one win and two losses. Upon the coaching staff’s request, he said, “Okay for my team.” He decided to take the mound after three days of rest, which he had never done even though he threw 95. He pitched well by allowing two runs during five innings, but lost due to poor batting performance, and Kelly’s fighting spirit went up in smoke.
In last year’s Korean Series, Kelly almost took the mound in Game 4 after a three-day break. Coach Yeom Kyung-yeop said, “If we lost in Game 3 with one win and one loss, we would have put Kelly in Game 4. Kim was appointed as the starting pitcher for Game 4, but if Kim lost in Game 3 and ended up with one win and two losses, Kim would have to throw under heavy pressure, which could make Game 4 difficult. Kelly also said OK to win the title. Oh Ji-hwan’s dramatic come-from-behind home run in the top of the ninth inning helped Kelly come from behind to become a winning pitcher in Game 5, and he was able to enjoy the joy of winning the Korean Series to his heart’s content with his teammates and fans.
Kelly never forgets to thank her Korean fans for always supporting her and her family. Perhaps that’s why she put her Korean name “Kelly” into action with a tattoo on the back of her left ear. She shed tears as she thanked her fans during an interview after completing a one-hit shutout by pitching perfectly until the 8th inning of the Jamsil Samsung match on June 25.
It was Kelly’s last appearance as well. When the club talked to Kelly about terminating his contract and asked him whether he would like to start or not, he said he would discuss it with his wife before throwing it. Although he was not good at the beginning, he could have expressed discontent about being replaced even though his performance is not bad after June, and decided to throw the ball for the fans and to play again with his teammates. And even though it was a no-game due to rain, he pitched like Kelly. With two outs and runners on the second base in the top of the third inning, he allowed two hits, one walk, and one strikeout during two ⅔ innings until the game was suspended due to rain. He did his best to throw the ball to win.
As the breakup with Kelly became official, she shed tears that she endured. All of her teammates also shed tears. At the farewell ceremony, captain Kim Hyun-soo came out to give a bouquet of flowers to say goodbye, and bowed to him in a 90-degree angle. It was an honorable treatment as he showed respect for his dedication to the team. Players who had always been with him in the first division as well as Kim Young-joon, who was rarely seen, were seen crying. This scene shows how good he was to his teammates.
It was not easy to see a player with good skills and personality in the KBO League, where he has been with numerous foreign players. Kelly was a “good person” who could be an example not only for foreigners but also for Korean players.