The ordeal of KIA’s 166-win big pitcher is not over.
Yang Hyun-jong (35)’s 2023 season is not going well. On August 15th, he skipped one appearance after pitching 5⅔ innings against Kiwoom in Gwangju, allowing 6 hits, 5 strikeouts, 4 walks, and 7 runs. At that time, he rested well for 2-3 days and regained his condition in Hampyeong,메이저사이트 and confessed that he felt various emotions about life being different from usual.
After healing my heart like that, I came back and found myself as a great pitcher. August 26 against Hanwha in Gwangju (6 innings, 5 hits, 4 strikeouts, 1 walk, 2 runs), against Incheon SSG on the 1st (7 innings, 2 hits, 3 strikeouts, 1 walk, no runs), against Doosan in Jamsil on the 7th (6 innings, 5 hits, 4 strikeouts, 3 walks, 1). (self-accusation) and overwhelmed the batters.
It was the same appearance that I originally saw from Yang Hyun-jong. Director Kim Jong-guk said, “The Hyeonjong we know has returned.” Although he did not say anything else, it appears that there were some technical changes in Hampyeong, such as refining the pitching balance.
Yang Hyun-jong also pitched well against Gwangju Lotte on the 13th. He allowed 5 hits, 4 strikeouts, 2 walks, and 3 runs in 5 innings. In the top of the third inning, with the bases loaded and no outs, third baseman Choi Jeong-yong made a critical error and was hit by Ahn Chi-hong for a double. However, he did not receive help from the batting lineup and ended up suffering his 9th loss of the season.
As it turns out, he also allowed 1 run in 6 innings against Doosan, but became the losing pitcher. After his return, he did enough to be the winning pitcher in all four games, but had to be satisfied with two wins. He was uncharacteristically sluggish for a big pitcher and was unable to accumulate wins, and this time, even though he pitched well, he was unable to accumulate wins.
In 23 games, 7 wins, 9 losses, and an ERA of 3.99. KIA has 28 games left. Yang Hyun-jong is expected to pitch in about 5 games in the future. If his luck doesn’t improve, he may not be able to win 10 games. He has won 10 games for eight consecutive seasons since the 2014 season, and is challenging the record for the ninth consecutive year this year. They are challenging the record set by KT coach Lee Kang-cheol (1989-1998), who succeeded in winning 10 games for 10 consecutive years, but have reached a critical point. For reference, Jang Won-jun (Doosan) also won 10 games for 8 consecutive years from the 2008 to 2017 seasons, but failed to record 9 consecutive years.
The 170 innings virtually went by. Surprisingly, Yang Hyun-jong has achieved 170 innings for 8 consecutive seasons since 2014, when he recorded 10 wins. Director Lee Kang-cheol and Jang Won-jun could not even attempt this challenge. The real reason Yang Hyun-jong is called a great pitcher today.
However, this season does not seem to be easy for various reasons. There are 130⅔ innings until the 13th. He would have to pitch 9 innings in all 5 games for 175⅔ innings, which is not realistic. One way or another, the 2023 season is passing by in a sad and unfortunate way for Yang Hyun-jong.