“I have now played 4 games (5 games until the 9th). (Jeong) Hae-young should do it.”
KIA finisher Jeong Hae-young’s pace in the beginning is not good. He has 1 win in 3 games and an earned run average of 9.00. He faced 11 batters in 23 innings, giving up 4 hits (2 home runs) and 3 runs. On the 8th, against Gwangju Doosan, the season’s first blown save and relief victory were won at the same time. However, on the 9th, in the 9th inning against Gwangju Doosan, 2-3, with 1 out and 1st and 3rd base, he took the mound, and Yang Seok-hwan was hit with a fastball by the shortstop, providing an opportunity for a rebound.
Jung Hae-young is the closer who changed the history of KIA.메이저놀이터With 34 saves in 2021 and 32 saves in 2022, he became the first player in KIA history to achieve 30 saves for two consecutive years. He even became the youngest to reach 30 saves and the youngest to make 50 saves, and this year he is challenging the youngest to make 100 saves (23 years, 10 months, 10 days). If he gets 33 saves, he will surpass Lim Chang-yong once again.
Jung Hae-young was not good even in the demonstration game with an average ERA of 4.76, 1 loss and 1 save in 6 games. On March 28, the Lotte game in Busan was beaten by Go Seung-min. If you look closely, this trend continues right after the start of the regular season.
Jung Hae-young has a fastball speed in the early 140km range. Instead, it has a high RBI and a long extension, so it is a type that the batter feels better. He has a good vertical movement and has good power with sliders and splitters.
However, it seems that it is not possible to maximize these advantages. Director Kim Jong-guk asserted that Jung Hae-young’s problem at this point is not his pitch, but his ninth pitch. Ahead of the game against Doosan in Gwangju on the 9th, “I was worried about my pitch from the demonstration game, but it will come up sooner or later. The pitch is also a pitch, but shouldn’t I take the ninth pitch elaborately?”
In addition, coach Kim said, “If you look at hits and home runs this season, the overall ball is high and driven to the middle. If he had thrown more elaborately, wouldn’t a home run become a hit, and a hit would become a criminal hit? It requires precise control.”
There is no retreat. If Jung Hae-young fails to finish, the back door of KIA shakes. Although the KIA bullpen has been enriched in quantity this year, there are few types of bullpen that overwhelm the batter, only the left hand has increased. Only Jeon Sang-hyun is the only bullpen player with finishing experience.
In that respect, Jung Hae-young’s appearance on the 9th was meaningful in that he left a good result, even though he was only a one-hitter. It was an ideal choice in that the bullpen was generally in a relaxed situation, and if they did not give up even one point, they could get a glimpse of their last chance at the bottom of the ninth inning. He just failed to turn it over in the bottom of the ninth.
Director Kim said, “I don’t think about Plan B yet. The finish may fail the match. Now he has 4 matches. Haeyoung should do it. that’s the best He needs to watch more.”