Doosan Bears standout Kim Taek-yeon wowed Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts in his senior national team debut.
Kim pitched ⅔ of an inning of two-hit, no-strikeout ball in relief in the special game of the MLB World Tour Seoul Series 2024 against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Monday.
Kim was the team's fourth pitcher after Oh Won-seok in the bottom of the sixth inning with the score 2-4. His pitches were intense and bold. He struck out Teoscar Hernandez and James Outman, both of whom are considered major league caliber hitters, back-to-back.
Kim faced Hernandez and worked a 1B-2S favorable count with his fastball and curveball, then fired a 93.7 mph (150 km/h) four-seam fastball down the middle in the fifth to induce a wild swing.
The outfielder faltered for a moment and threw three pitches in a row, but he quickly worked a full count and then fired a sixth pitch, a 92.5-mph (148-kilometer) four-seam fastball right down the middle for a swinging strike.
That was it for Kim. With the bases loaded and no outs, he was replaced by Hwang Jun-seo, the No. 1 overall pick, and retired to the dugout to a rousing ovation from the crowd. It was a moment that signaled the birth of a new national prospect.
Nemesis and Major League Baseball manager Dave Roberts was also impressed with Kim's pitching. When asked after the game to name one Korean player who impressed him, Roberts said, "There was a right-hander, and the outman said he pitched really well. He was 바카라사이트 throwing hard fastballs in the upper part of the strike zone. I thought he had a really good arm. I can't remember his name exactly," he said of Kim.
The Incheon High School product joined Doosan with the second overall pick in the first round of the 2024 rookie draft and has been competing with Jung Chul-won for the closer's job in exhibition games. He pitched with uncharacteristic guts for a rookie, going perfect in three games with two saves and an ERA of 0 (three scoreless innings). This earned him a call-up to the national team and a chance to face the Dodgers, one of the best teams in the majors.
Kim wasn't the only one. "Korea had a lot of players with good arms," Roberts said. There are a lot of great players around the world. When we came to Korea, we could see that there are a lot of great players. It was impressive to see them play against us."
Roberts also shared his honest thoughts on Korea's K-cheering culture. Roberts said, "They kept cheering throughout the game. I didn't even realize the game was over. It was amazing," Roberts said, adding, "You don't really get to experience a different baseball culture. You don't really get to experience other baseball cultures," Roberts said, adding, "There were cheers from the left and right field, and it was very different, and it was great.
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