Their companionship, which seemed like it would last forever, came to an end. Foreign pitcher David Buchanan (35), who played as the ‘ace’ of the Samsung Lions for the past four years, is finally leaving Samsung.
On the 4th, the Samsung Lions officially announced, “We have signed a contract with new foreign pitcher Denny Reyes.” Samsung signed Reyes to a total of $800,000, including $100,000 in down payment, $500,000 in annual salary, and $200,000 in incentives. 카지노사이트랭크
Reyes, from the Dominican Republic and born in 1996, is a player with an outstanding physique, standing 193cm tall and weighing 115kg. He has shown particularly strong performance against left-handed hitters, and is evaluated to be a competitive pitcher in the KBO league, which has recently seen an increase in left-handed hitters.
In addition, Reyes knows how to throw a fastball with an average speed of 147 km and a maximum speed of 150 km, as well as a variety of breaking balls such as a slider, change-up, and cutter. Samsung evaluated, “The two-seam fastball optimized for robot umpires is also used at a high level. In particular, the on-base percentage per inning (WHIP) and walk percentage allowed (BB/9), which are representative records that show the stability of the pitcher, are excellent.”
This meant a complete separation from Buchanan. Previously, on December 22 of last year, Samsung signed new foreign pitcher Connor Siebold for a total of $1 million, including $100,000 in down payment, $800,000 in annual salary, and $100,000 in incentives. With this, Samsung has completed its one-two punch for foreigners this year with Siebold and Reyes.
Samsung tried to renew the contract with Buchanan, but it ultimately fell through. The Samsung club said, “Buchanan, who has been on the mound for the Samsung Lions for the past four years, recently rejected the club’s final offer while considering advancing to the major leagues, so unfortunately negotiations for a new contract broke down.”
Buchanan made his major league debut with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2014 and pitched 117⅔ innings, going 6-8 with an ERA of 3.75. However, Buchanan, who had only 2 wins, 9 losses, and an ERA of 6.99 in 74⅔ innings in 2015, moved around the minor league Triple A in 2016, and opened a new baseball life by joining the Yakult Swallows of the Japanese professional baseball team in 2017. Buchanan, who pitched 159⅔ innings in 2017 with a record of 6 wins, 13 losses, and an ERA of 3.66, pitched 174⅓ innings in 2018, leaving an ERA of 4.03 with 10 wins, 11 losses, and an ERA of 4.79 over 99⅔ innings, and was last seen in Japan in 2019 with a record of 4 wins, 6 losses, and an ERA of 4.79 over 99⅔ innings. left the stage
The place where Buchanan newly settled was Dalgubeol. Buchanan, who has been with Samsung since 2020, pitched 174⅔ innings and recorded 15 wins, 7 losses, and an average ERA of 3.45, establishing himself as Samsung’s new ace. In 2021, Buchanan, who pitched 177 innings and recorded 16 wins, 5 losses, and an average ERA of 3.10, taking the title for most wins, while leading Samsung to advance directly to the playoffs, pitched 160 innings in 2022, leaving a record of 11 wins, 8 losses, and an average ERA of 3.04. He continued his steady performance, and last year, he continued his reputation by showing excellent pitching with 188 innings, 12 wins, 8 losses, and an average ERA of 2.54.
Although he was a foreign player, he was by no means a foreigner. His cheerful personality allowed him to get along well with his teammates and he tried to understand Korean culture. He did not hesitate to make sacrifices for his team. The number of pitches he left in the Incheon SSG match on August 11 last year was 127. There was a dizzying moment when Samsung almost fell to last place for the first time since its founding, but thanks to Buchanan’s fight, they were able to prevent a ‘disaster’.
In terms of pitching content, last year was the most complete season. He pitched 188 innings, close to 200, which was the most since Buchanan debuted in the KBO League. At the same time, his number of home runs was only 4. Following 16 in 2020, 13 in 2021, and 10 in 2022, it was ‘impregnable’ to the extent of recording a single-digit number last year.
Buchanan, who appeared in a total of 113 games over four seasons in the KBO league, pitched 699⅔ innings, and left an outstanding record of 54 wins, 28 losses, and an ERA of 3.02, gave up 2 runs with 5 hits, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts, and 6 strikeouts in 6 innings against Gocheok Kiwoom on July 30th last year. He pitched well and achieved his 50th win in the KBO League. In an interview after the game, Buchanan said, “It is very meaningful for me personally to be able to achieve 50 wins in the KBO League. There are many good hitters in Korea, so it feels good to be able to achieve 50 wins.” He added, “I wouldn’t have been able to do this without my teammates.” “I wouldn’t have been able to achieve good results. I want to say thank you to the club that trusted me and my teammates who played hard behind me,” he said, showing that he cares for his teammates.
Buchanan was not only talented, but his fan service spirit was also top notch. In particular, at the KBO All-Star Game held at Sajik Stadium in Busan last year, he entertained fans by performing a dance performance with LG foreign hitter Austin Dean. He also appeared wearing Tom Cruise’s costume from the movie ‘Top Gun Maverick’, and even though he was a pitcher, he came to the plate and caught Go Woo-seok’s 150km fastball. He even showed amazing performance by hitting and scoring a hit.
At the time, Buchanan expressed his thoughts, saying, “I think I’m leaving with good memories because I focused on being able to communicate a lot with the fans and have a fun time.”
However, now we can no longer see Buchanan’s overwhelming pitching and performances that resonate with fans. Buchanan didn’t just leave. He left a video message to his fans through his wife’s SNS on the 5th.
“Me and my family will not be able to return to the Samsung Lions. We really wanted to come back and were thinking about retiring from Samsung. But things didn’t work out the way we wanted. It was a very difficult decision,” said Buchanan. “My family came to Korea.” “We are grateful for the love our fans gave us from the first day to the last day. This cannot be expressed in words. Our fans will always remain in our hearts. We will never forget you,” he said.
Finally, Buchanan said, “Blue blood will always flow through my body,” and he hoped to be remembered as an eternal Lions man.
The colleagues who are leaving Buchanan are equally sad. Samsung players said goodbye to Buchanan through social media. Veteran home manager Kang Min-ho, who worked with Buchanan in the battery, praised Buchanan by saying, “You were the best pitcher for me,” and expressed his regret by saying, “I’ll definitely meet you again someday. I’ll miss you a lot. My friend!”
Won Tae-in, the ‘local ace’ who led the Samsung mound along with Buchanan, said, “I was always busy following in his footsteps,” and added, “The player who taught me so much over the past four years and had the greatest influence on my growth,” said Buchanan was more than just a colleague. He said he was a meaningful player.
Won Tae-in then promised, “I am very sad to leave, but we support and respect each other wherever we are, so I will finish well without any injuries and when we meet again, I will become a player who shows what was expected of me and more.” Lastly, Won Tae-in said, “I will miss you. Let’s meet again.”
Samsung, which started off enthusiastically last year with the appointment of new coach Park Jin-man, finished the regular season in 8th place and failed to advance to the postseason for two consecutive years. Samsung, which appointed new general manager Lee Jong-yeol at the end of last season, strengthened its backdoor by signing a four-year contract worth 5.8 billion won with veteran closing pitcher Kim Jae-yoon in the free agent market and took a powerful step toward this season. However, losing a proven ace named Buchanan was a fatal blow.
What changes will Samsung face with Buchanan’s departure? First of all, expectations are high on Siebold as the player who will take Buchanan’s vacant position. Siebold is an active major leaguer who played 27 games for the Major League Colorado Rockies last year, recording 1 win, 7 losses, and an ERA of 7.52 in 87 ⅓ innings. He also recorded a career record of 13 wins, 7 losses, and an ERA of 4.13 in Triple A.
Samsung said, “Siebold uses a powerful fastball with an average speed of 150km and a high-quality breaking ball such as a changeup and slider. With excellent use of the left and right sides of the strike zone, he will play a part in Samsung’s starting lineup for the 2024 season based on his strong pitch and stable control. “I expect it to be given,” he said. It remains to be seen whether Siebold is truly the right person to fill Buchanan’s void.