Necessary conditions for the team’s rebound… Honor recovery
The pitchers with the most losses in the league last year were Lim Ki-young (KIA Tigers), Choi Won-jun (Doosan Bears), and Baek Jeong-hyun (Samsung Lions). However, even with the same 13 losses, the feeling of the three pitchers was different.
Choi Won-joon (30 games, 165 innings, ERA 3.60) and Lim Ki-young (26 games, 129⅓ innings, 4.25 ERA) showed their best despite struggling situations. On the other hand, Baek Jung-hyun left a poor record with an average ERA of 5.27 with 4 wins and 13 losses in 24 games and 124⅔ innings.
Baek Jeong-hyun, who led the team to the postseason by winning 14 wins in the 2021 regular season alone, became an ordinary pitcher in just one season. As his sluggishness prolonged, he ended up finishing his first season after a free agent contract (4 years total of 3.8 billion won) without any noticeable results.
Compared to the previous year, what has changed?
From the conclusion, it was more correct than the 2021 season. The number of hits (142 → 154) and home runs (15 → 22) increased from the previous year. There was no other pitcher in the league who hit more home runs than Baek Jung-hyun last season.
The number of home runs allowed in home games (7 in 13 matches → 16 in 15 matches) was more than twice that of the previous year. In other words, the hitter-friendly home stadium harassed Baek Jeong-hyeon. Of course, that doesn’t mean that the away game performance (8 games, 40 innings, 1 win, 5 losses, 5.18 ERA) was noticeably better than the home game (16 games, 84⅔ innings, 3 wins, 8 losses, 5.31 ERA).
In the end, the fundamental problem was that there were a lot of ‘long hits allowed’. According to Statties, a site specializing in KBO league records, the increase in slugging percentage (0.367→0.492) was greater than the on-base percentage (0.308→0.358). Even if it is a small difference, not only the number of home runs but also the number of doubles (25 → 27) and triples (1 → 2) increased.
The average four-seam fastball speed (136.6 km → 136.3 km) did not change much, but considering the slugging rate (0.340 → 0.616) of four-seam fastballs, it can be seen that there were many situations where Baek’s fast ball led to a long hit. Eventually, he had to find a breakthrough with his two-seam fastball, slider, and changeup.
However, it was comforting that there was some effect after increasing the proportion of two-seam fastballs from August. He, who did not become a winning pitcher until August, won 4 wins only after September. In the match against KT Wiz on August 14 (56.3%) and against the Doosan Bears on October 6 (52.4%), the two-seam fastball usage rate was over 50%.
Samsung’s mound can only count when Baek Jung-hyun revives
Last year, there were three pitchers who pitched more than 160 innings in Samsung’s starting lineup, and among them, David Buchanan (11 wins) and Won Tae-in (10 wins) achieved double-digit multipliers. Albert Suarez (173⅔ innings), who did not follow Seung-un, also did his best. Even with such a solid 3 starter, the team remained in 7th place. 토토사이트
In other words, Baek’s sluggish performance had a great impact on the team’s performance. While Baek Jung-hyun couldn’t win a single win until August, the team got away from the ranking competition early, and when he rebounded after September, the team also drew an upward curve. During the same period, Samsung recorded the highest win rate among 10 clubs with a win rate of 0.621, 18 wins and 11 losses in 29 matches.
In addition, to prevent the bullpen from overloading, the role of starting pitchers has to be emphasized more. The ‘veteran duo’ Oh Seung-hwan and Woo Kyu-min will guard the back door this year as well, but considering the situation in the bullpen with many ‘young guns’, starting pitchers need to relieve this burden.
This is the season to repay the trust of the team that trusted the player and stamped it. Any further sluggishness is of no benefit to the players or the team. Attention is focusing on whether Baek Jung-hyun will restore his pride as a ’14-win pitcher’ and lead the team to take off.