My first day in the closer’s role. Unprepared, he was thrown into the game in the ninth inning to quickly warm up and close out the game, but as if he was prepared, he struck out the side to end the game and secure the save.
Kim, who has been touted as the Doosan Bears’ closer of the future since his rookie year, has become a closer for real.
In a 9-6 home win over the Hanwha Eagles in Jamsil on Nov. 13, Kim came in with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth inning with a three-run lead and struck out Kim Tae-yeon to preserve the win. It wasn’t her first career save. She already had two saves. On May 21, he gave up four runs in the top of the ninth inning of an 8-2 win over the SSG Landers in Jamsil, and with the game tied at two, he came in to close out the game with a bases-loaded walk to earn his first save, and on May 8, he came in with one out in the top of the ninth inning of a 9-8 win over the KIA in Jamsil to earn his second save with two outs.
But until then, he was a setup man, pitching to close games when needed.
Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop made a surprise move on the 13th and named Kim Taek-yeon as the team’s new closer after the recent struggles of closer Hong Gun-hee. He wanted Hong to regain his confidence by pitching in a more comfortable situation and trusted Kim with the closer’s job, as he had been performing well in crunch time.
“If you look at his game, his strike-to-ball ratio, his four-pitch-to-four-strikeout ratio, and so on, it seems that the pressure he puts on the opposing team is the biggest,” Lee said. “In a crisis situation with runners on base, he’s our No. 1 pitcher, and he’s always doing a good job, so we chose him now because he’s a pitcher who makes you think that if he goes up, Doosan will win.” “I think he has a personality (as a closer). He’s not afraid to pitch in any situation. I felt that he pitches harder in crunch time than when there are no runners on base, and he has a competitive spirit. I think he has the qualities to be a closer.”
At the start of the ninth inning, it looked like Kim would not come out, as the score was 9-3 and the lead was six runs. But in the top of the ninth, Lee Kyo-hoon gave up two singles and a triple to Moon Hyun-bin, giving up two runs. That’s when Kim Taek-yeon started to warm up. Kim Myung-shin came on and struck out Noh Si-hwan for the second out, but Lee Won-seok gave up another run on a single to left to make it 9-6. Three runs and two outs. It was a save situation. Kim Taek-yeon came up to bat for Kim Tae-yeon.
I was curious about the first pitch, but it was a slider. Kim watched and struck out. The second pitch was a fastball, and Kim Tae-yeon swung like she was waiting 스포츠토토 for it and fouled it off. In the third pitch, he threw a fastball again, but it was high, so it was a ball. In the fourth pitch, Kim chose a slider. As if he was expecting a fastball, Kim took an erratic swing and struck out swinging, ending the game.
After the game, Kim said, “It was a little different because I was a real closer, but I think I threw with the same mindset as I usually do, which led to a good result.” “Even if I got hit by a big pitch, I still had one run left and two outs, so I thought, ‘Let’s throw boldly even if I get hit,'” he said.
“The manager trusted me and entrusted me with the closing role, so I was told to throw with responsibility,” Kim said. “When I move up to the closer, I take on more responsibility and try to play with the same mindset as before.”
The first pitch he threw as a closer was the one that his catcher, Kim Ki-yeon, signed off on. “The first pitch was a slider, but I thought I had a high fastball percentage, so I thought I would be timed on the fastball, so I thought I wouldn’t get hit if I threw a slider, so I threw it down the middle,” Kim said. “The last pitch was also a slider, but it was a sign to take it outside, but I threw it down the line 사설 토토사이트 and it went in,” he laughed.
Of course, he knows it’s an important position. Still, she feels good that it was the position she wanted to take. “It’s a position where you can win for three hours and lose in one minute,” Kim said. “There will be days when I lose because of me, but I think I will have to overcome the moments that will be difficult, but I feel good about being the finisher,” Kim laughed.
He continued to hold the ball during the interview. Kang Seung-ho gave him his first save as a finisher. I got my first save ball as a debutant and my first save ball as a closer as a commemoration. With three saves, he already has two commemorative balls.