“I think I’ve become more accustomed to throwing for fun rather than being nervous.”
One of the most representative words to evaluate KIA Tigers baby tiger Yoon Young-chul (19) is that he is not like a rookie. The rookie pitcher, who has only pitched in six games, has learned to enjoy the game itself rather than being nervous.
In the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League visiting match against the Samsung Lions held at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on the 17th, Yoon Young-cheol threw 92 pitches in 5⅓ innings, giving up 4 hits, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts and 1 run (visa).
After his debut, Yun Young-cheol, who had the most pitches and the most innings, showed his true value with impeccable pitches, although he was somewhat shaken in the 6th inning.
Yoon Young-cheol, who went through Chungam High School, wore the KIA uniform as the second overall pick. A lot of attention was focused on Kim Seo-hyun (19, Hanwha Eagles), who showed interest in American professional baseball Major League (MLB) clubs by spraying a ball close to 160 km, but rather was evaluated as a pitcher with a higher degree of perfection.
His season average velocity was 137km. Compared to rival Kim Seo-hyun (19, Hanwha Eagles), who throws the ball close to 160 km, it is a shabby level, but it also shows the value of Yun Young-chul. Showing competitiveness in professional baseball with a ball that is less than 140 km has many meanings.
Before the game, coach Kim Jong-guk praised, “I’m adapting well. If the number of pitches is small, I’ll go longer, but I’m setting my expectations at 3 runs in 5 innings. So far, I’m adapting smoothly.”
Of course, not everything is satisfactory. Because it has potential. Coach Kim said, “It’s not easy to adjust the mechanics right now,” but “after the season, I think I need to prepare more in terms of physical strength, restraint, and interval issues.”
However, Yoon Young-cheol proved that he was competitive enough as he is now. Of the 92 pitches that day, 42 were fastballs, and the top speed was 141km per hour. He harassed the Samsung batters by mixing the slider (28 pitches), changeup (16 pitches), and even the curve ball (6 pitches) with his breaking ball.
His pitching in the bottom of the third inning stood out. In the first out, Kim Ji-chan walked and Lee Jae-hyun hit right handed, but he threw a timing-depriving changeup to Pirella and pulled out the bat with a high-speed ball to center fielder and Koo Ja-wook, and put out the fire himself by inducing a fly in left field.
In the 4th and 5th innings, Yoon Yeong-chul finished with another three-way offense, and the number of pitches was 82. Yoon Young-chul, who came to the mound once again in the 6th inning, is it because of the increased number of pitches? He gave up consecutive hits to Lee Jae-hyun and Pirella. The number of pitches Koo Ja-wook caught with a shortstop pop fly was 92. On the 21st of last month, it was the most pitched pitches over 91 pitches against Samsung in Gwangju, and the most innings over 5 innings in the previous 3 games.
When Jeon Sang-hyun took over the ball, Lee Jae-hyun, who had been digging into third base, was out and one of the successor runners disappeared. Yoon Young-chul’s loss was recorded as 1. However, it was a situation where the inning could have been completed without a run if it had not been for an error, so there were no earned runs left.
Jeon Sang-hyun faltered and gave up two more runs, but Yun Young-cheol kept the winning pitcher requirement by finishing the bottom of the 6th inning with a 6-3 lead. In the bottom of the ninth, Jeong Hae-young gave up 3 runs, but Choi Ji-min perfectly caught 2 batters and gave Yoon Young-cheol the victory with his first save in his life.
After the game, coach Kim Jong-guk praised him, saying, “He played the role of a starting pitcher very well, blocking the opponent’s batting line with minimal runs메이저사이트.”
He has a lot of experience and is more calm on the mound than any of his seniors. He didn’t flinch, he aggressively faced hitters and started producing results.
What is the secret? Yoon Young-cheol’s answer was surprising. He said, “Even in high school, I threw in a lot of games and threw a lot in big games, so I think I’ve gotten used to throwing a little more fun than being nervous.” The fact that a rookie pitcher is enjoying himself on the professional stage shows how unique his bowl is.
On this day, the redemption came out better than usual. Yoon Young-chul said, “Until the previous game, I had the feeling that I was throwing lightly with less strength, but I also thought that I shouldn’t throw it like this.”
Even so, how can they overwhelm batters with a ball with a maximum velocity of only 141km? “I’m not sure either. I’m getting a certain amount of control and targeting the course,” he explained.
Which one do you have more confidence in, a fastball or a breaking ball? Yoon Young-chul said, “Still, I am a little more confident in my fastballs when asked to throw them.”
He gave up 7 runs in 8 innings in the first two games, but then earned 2 wins by throwing 5 or more innings in 4 consecutive games. what could have been better Yoon Young-chul said, “First of all, I gained a lot of confidence. At first, compared to high school, the zone was narrower and there were a lot of slightly ambiguous balls.”
Manager Kim said before the game that he would remove Yoon Young-chul from the first-team roster around the next week. It’s like he’s under special care. Since he is a player with a bright future, he needs to control without overdoing it. Yoon Yeong-chul said, “Because they are taking care of me, when I miss a turn, I have to rest better and try to throw better in the next game.” I have a big desire to do it,” he said.
Yoon Young-chul, who still enjoys baseball. When asked how he felt about digesting his expedition schedule, Yoon Young-cheol replied:
“It’s fun. You can watch baseball from the front.”