NC Dinos veteran pitcher Lee Jae-hak (33)’s pitch was greatly shaken.
Lee Jae-hak climbed the mound following starting pitcher Lee Yong-joon at the end of the 4th inning, where the team trailed 0-1 against kt Wiz at the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League Demonstration Game’ held at Suwon kt Wiz Park on the 27th.
From the first batter, an uneasy start continued. He gave up four pitches to the ninth hitter, Jung Joon-young. The attack flow continued from 2nd base, 1st and 2nd base to the opponent’s top line, and the 4th pitch changeup was attacked in a situation where Minhyuk Kim and the ball count were at a disadvantage of 2-1. This resulted in an additional run at 0-2 after being hit by a 1-run wedge.
Lee Jae-hak gave another walk to follow-up hitter Kang Baek-ho, facing a crisis with two outs loaded, and ended the inning by treating pinch hitter Cho Yong-ho as a floating ball in right field. In the bottom of the 5th inning, Seong-Woo Jang walked after one out, and in the bottom of the 6th, lead batter Ryu Hyun-In allowed 4 pitches, showing an uneasy control. The final score was 2 innings, 1 hit, 4 walks, no runs. Except for the runner conceding, he blocked it well even in the presence of a runner, but it was far from the pitch the team wanted.
Lee Jae-hak signed an FA (free agent) contract with his original team NC for up to 900 million won (2 years of guarantee, 550 million won, total option of 350 million won including execution of the 3rd year contract) in the off-season 2+1 year. He is a founding member of NC, who joined the KBO 2nd draft in 2011, and has a career record of 270 games, 77 wins and 71 losses, and an average ERA of 4.52 in 1253⅔innings.
Lee Jae-hak is shaking little by little after achieving an average ERA of 3.75 in 129⅔innings with 10 wins and 4 losses in the 2019 season. He did not pitch 100 innings for three years, and he also moved positions from the starter to the bullpen due to unstable pitching.
Lee Jae-hak’s resolution for the new season was different. I prepared for the season with my fists clenched, even if it was to survive the competition with my juniors and the pride of being a team franchise. 토토사이트
However, the results are still not good. On this day, including the mound, he is recording no runs in 5 innings, 3 hits, 4 walks, 8 strikeouts, and 5 strikeouts. He conceded no runs, but the fact that he had 8 on 4 balls is undesirable. More than anything else, pitch anxiety is fatal for bullpen pitchers, who need a sense of stability in the second half of the game.
NC needs Lee Jae-hak’s hard work. If the various experiences and know-how gained during the 11 seasons of playing in the first team can be displayed on the mound, the team can gain vitality. Both the team and the players are hoping that the anxiety during the demonstration game will not continue into the season.