“I can’t believe I’m in Korea.”
On the 9th, KT Wiz announced that it had recruited William Cuevas for a total of $450,000 (approximately 582 million won) as a replacement for foreign pitcher Bo Schulser.
Cuevas wore the KT uniform for the first time in the 2019 season. He played for four seasons, going 33-22 in 82 games with an earned run average of 3.89 in 486⅓ innings. In the 2021 season, he played well in the tie-break against the Samsung Lions and the Korean series against the Doosan Bears, leading KT to its first combined victory.메이저놀이터
Cuevas parted ways with KT last season due to an elbow injury. He later played in the Mexican League and represented Colombia in the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC). Afterwards, he signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers where he pitched for the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers. And after a year, I came back to KT again.
Cuevas met with reporters ahead of the confrontation with SSG Landers in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 14th.
Speaking about his feelings about returning, Cuevas said, “I met my teammates after a year, but when I talked to them, it felt like I had never left. So I think I’ll be able to adapt quickly. I’m ready to play. I want to,” he said.
He added, “After leaving KT, I played in the Mexican League. After that, I competed in the WBC and then went through the Mexican League and signed a contract with the Dodgers. Being here again feels like riding a roller coaster. I can’t believe I’m in Korea.”
Cuevas cited his teammates as the biggest reason he wanted to return to Korea. He said, “The biggest reason I wanted to come to Korea was my colleagues. My colleagues always took good care of me like family. They helped each other a lot, so I always wanted to come to Korea.”
Cuevas pitched in the bullpen ahead of the game. He threw a total of 32 pitches and checked five pitches: a four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, cutter, curveball, and changeup. After watching the bullpen pitching, KT coach Lee Kang-chul selected Cuevas as the starting pitcher to play against Suwon Samsung on the 17th.
KT is currently in 9th place with 23 wins, 2 draws and 33 losses. Cuevas’s performance is also expected to be important if he is to revive his hopes of advancing to the postseason. But Cuevas thought that if his motivation got ahead of him, he could become poison.
Cuevas said, “I want to throw as usual. If I try to do better, it can have a bad effect. I will throw as hard as I normally do.” It’s June. There are many games left. There is a possibility that it will go up enough. I just do my best to pitch my role.”