Closer pitchers from the KBO league who advanced to the major leagues include Koo Dae-seong, Lim Chang-yong, Lee Sang-hoon, Oh Seung-hwan, and Ko Woo-seok.
Lee Sang-hoon was a starting pitcher for the LG Twins and then switched to the bullpen for the Chunichi Dragons of the Japanese professional baseball team. He was a bullpen assistant when he joined the Boston Red Sox (2000).
Seung-hwan Oh is a former KBO player who succeeded as a bullpen pitcher on the MLB stage. After playing for the Samsung Lions and Hanshin Tigers, he became a complete free agent in 2016 and received an annual salary of $2.5 million in a 1+1 contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. In 2017, the club adopted the option and remained in St. Louis with an annual salary of $2.75 million. 먹튀검증사이트
Seunghwan Oh was 33 years and 263 days old when he debuted, making him actually 34 years old. In his debut game with the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 4, 2016, he pitched in the 7th inning following starter Adam Wainwright and recorded 2 strikeouts, 2 walks, and no runs.
At the time, the fastball Trevor Rosenthal was in charge of the tailgate in St. Louis. Manager Mike Matheny, a former catcher, hired Oh Seung-hwan depending on the situation. He wasn’t even the setup man in charge of the 8th inning in the beginning. Every time he appeared on the mound, he pitched well and his importance as a setup man increased.
Closer Rosenthal’s ERA rose to 4 points with a series of blown saves. On July 3, three months after his debut, against the Milwaukee Brewers, he appeared in the 9th inning with a 3-0 lead and recorded his first MLB save with 2 strikeouts (swinging) and no runs in 1 inning. Afterwards, he became St. Louis’ closer.
In his 2016 debut, he was successful with 6 wins, 3 losses, 19 saves, and a 1.92 earned run average. He came with 4 blow fortune eve 14 holds. He established himself as MLB’s top closer with 103 strikeouts and 18 walks in 79.2 innings. In 2017, he regressed to 1 win, 6 losses, 20 saves, and a 4.10 average. However, St. Louis invested $5.25 million over two years, providing the best value for money. The club had a so-called ‘bargain’ contract.
Koo Dae-sung made his MLB debut with the New York Mets in 2005 when he was 35 years old, and Lim Chang-yong with the Chicago Cubs in 2013 made his MLB debut when he was 37 years old. He has something in common, having played in KBO and Japanese professional baseball, but his pitching skills were no longer suitable for MLB. Koo Dae-seong only pitched in 33 games and 23 innings, while Lim Cha-yong only pitched in 6 games and 5 innings. Lee Sang-hoon, who debuted at the relatively young age of 29 compared to Koo Dae-sung, Lim Chang-yong, and Oh Seung-hwan, also finished with 9 games and 11.1 innings.
Seung-hwan Oh went on to become the best bullpen pitcher produced by the KBO. He played in 232 games over four seasons in MLB, recording 16 wins, 13 losses, 42 saves, and a 3.31 average. He totaled 225.2 innings with 252 strikeouts and 56 walks.
Ko Woo-seok (25), who signed a two-year contract with the San Diego Padres for $4.5 million, is on much better terms than his seniors. Enter the MLB in your prime when your pitch is at its best. In fact, the consensus among experts is that in the case of Koo Dae-sung, he could have succeeded as a closer in any MLB team if he had entered his prime. His greatest strength is not only his left hand, but he is also excellent at ‘deception’, which prevents the batter from noticing the ball until it is released.
Although Go Woo-seok worked as a closer for the LG Twins, it is still difficult to predict whether he will be able to take responsibility for San Diego’s tailgate in 2024. Seung-hwan Oh was also verified in the KBO-NPB, but St. Louis changed his position to closer after examining him as a bullpen pitcher for about three months.
In fact, pitchers are easier to adapt to than hitters. There are more cases of overseas players entering and succeeding in MLB than pitchers rather than hitters. The batter needs a period of time to adjust to the opposing pitchers’ balls, but the pitcher only has to throw his own pitch.
Throughout history, successful KBO pitchers such as Oh Seung-hwan and Ryu Hyun-jin have said, “Baseball is the same everywhere.” But the batter did not say this. This is because he never succeeded right away and it takes time to adapt.