Eui-ri Lee’s ‘Baseball Challenge’, which appeared without fail,
There is an attractive pitcher who led the team to victory by making a quality start (6 or more starting innings, 3 earned runs or less) even if he threw 8 consecutive balls. Lee Eui-ri (21), the next-generation ace of the KIA Tigers, is the main character. He is a left-handed fireballer who will lead the Republic of Korea, who was selected as a national representative in the Olympics, WBC, and Asian Games. However, the problem of control anxiety is always followed by pitchers.스포츠토토
It was the same in the last 10 games. Eui-ri Lee, who started in the match against Doosan Bears in the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, won 6 wins (3 losses) in the season with 4 hits, 4 strikeouts, 3 walks and 3 runs in 6 innings.
He threw a fastball that exceeded 150 km, a slider, a changeup, and a curveball, throwing Doosan’s lineup. In particular, the backdoor slider, which opens the back door of a right-handed hitter, was a powerful pitch that was difficult to hit even if you knew it. However, even a pitcher with such an attractive ball is useless if he does not control the ball.
Eui-ri Lee is a mysterious pitcher who suddenly shakes his pitch even after throwing well. In the game that day, he easily led the game with a tripartite offense until the second inning, and then started to shake after allowing the first hit to lead batter Kim Jae-ho in the third inning. When he switched to his set position, he suddenly couldn’t throw a strike. He caught a strike with a first-pitched fastball to follow-up hitter Kang Seung-ho, then threw consecutive balls and allowed a walk. Afterwards, Jung Soo-bin’s bunt hit faced a crisis with a base loaded with one out.
However, once the ball was shaken, it was not caught. When dealing with Lee Yu-chan, except for the first pitch strike, Lee Yu-chan and Yang Eui-ji threw 8 consecutive balls and allowed a tie with a push walk. And Yang Seok-hwan allowed a turnaround with a sacrifice fly to center fielder.
It was an absurd scene in which he allowed 3 runs without allowing a single timely hit.
On this day, Eui-ri Lee threw 95 balls and allowed only 4 hits. He gave up three walks, all three in the third inning when he gave up three runs. In other innings when the ball was caught, the batting line was easily overwhelmed. As much as Lee Eui-ri’s ball is powerful and attractive.
In particular, the four-seam’s pitching with a maximum velocity of 152 km and an average of 146 km is really good. He is a pitcher who can overwhelm batters with only his four-seam, and his four-seam ranks first among lefties in the country. However, he has a strong tendency to push only with force, without any control over speed. In particular, the control of the changing ball is a problem. When his fastball doesn’t go the way he wants, he often shows his breaking ball faltering.
He’s posting a 2.77 earned run average this season, but he’s always been close. He always brings himself to the bases loaded crisis with consecutive walks and blocks with excellent pitches in the face of crisis. Baseball fans call this the ‘Lee Eui-ri Challenge’.
However, you must not show the ‘Lee Eui-ri Challenge’ at international competitions with the Taegeuk mark. In an international competition where a match is decided by a single game, the lack of control is a fatal flaw.
Lee Eui-ri threw a fastball with a maximum speed of 155 km/h against Japan at the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March. However, he only had 3 walks and 1 strikeout in ⅓ innings. Eui-ri Lee, who was unable to get his first ball, ended the tournament with the last appearance against Korea and Japan and was unable to play any more.
He said he is a national team pitcher and should not throw 8 balls in a row like on this day. If there is a pitcher whose pitches suddenly fluctuate like this, it is difficult to predict the operation of the bullpen, and it is difficult for the manager and teammates.