Seung-Hwan Oh (41, Samsung Lions), the ‘endgame king’ who fell into sluggishness, starts for the first time in his 19th year of debut.
It’s not like he’s changing his position. As he is a ‘surprise starter’, it is a prescription to increase the pace and aim for a rebound.
Oh Seung-hwan will start the match against Kiwoom at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu on the 3rd.
A Samsung official said on the 2nd, “It was decided that Oh Seung-hwan would start on the 3rd. I reported it to director Park Jin-man, and the director agreed.”
According to this official, Samsung coach Park Jin-man explained, ahead of the Kiwoom game that day, “It’s an important player and I have to survive, so I decided to run an irregular operation. Coach Jung recommended Seung-hwan Oh after consideration, and he accepted it.”
Seung-hwan Oh’s pitches are expected to be around 50-60. Seung-Hwan Oh is said to have conveyed his will to take on 5 innings as he is the starting pitcher.
It is the first time Oh Seung-hwan, who started his professional life in a Samsung uniform in 2005, climbed the mound as a starter.
Oh Seung-hwan pitched in 620 games in the KBO league, all as a bullpen pitcher. Oh Seung-hwan played 127 games in two seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball and 232 games in 4 years in Major League Baseball (MLB), but he did not start even once.
Oh Seung-hwan’s starting pitching is a measure to escape the recent slump. Oh Seung-hwan had an average ERA of 4.50 with 1 win, 1 loss, 4 saves and 2 holds in 10 games this season. He has a batting average of 0.310먹튀검증 and on-base allowed per inning (WHIP) of 1.80, and detailed indicators are not good either.
Oh Seung-hwan, who started the season as a closer this year as well, recorded 4 saves in 7 games since the opening, but his ERA was sluggish at 4.91. He also committed two blown saves.
When Seung-Hwan Oh could hardly find stability, coach Park assigned left-hander Lee Seung-Hyun the finishing role and put Oh Seung-Hwan in the middle.
Even after putting down his finishing position for a while, Oh still faltered. Against the KIA Tigers on the 23rd of last month, he allowed one run while hitting one home run in 1⅓ innings. Against the Doosan Bears on the 26th of last month, he was scoreless in ⅔ innings and took a hold, but gave up two walks and exposed his anxiety.
Seung-hwan Oh has not had a chance to pitch since the match against Doosan on the 26th of the same month.
As even his chances to start diminished, Coach Jeong, who played as a bullpen pitcher in the past, reminded him of the rebound he had made while starting and recommended it to Oh Seung-hwan. Oh Seung-hwan accepted coach Jung’s recommendation after much thought.
Oh Seung-hwan is thinking of recovering the feeling of when he was good while digesting long innings.
According to a club official, coach Jeong said, “Oh Seung-hwan seemed to be shrinking from the mound because of his poor results recently. He gave points when he shouldn’t have given points, so he couldn’t afford it, and he felt like he was being chased.” He said, “I want him to throw his own ball because he can give it to him.”
Oh Seung-hwan, the oldest pitcher in the KBO League this year, collected 496 saves in Korea, the US and Japan, and 374 saves in the KBO League.
With a total of 500 saves in Korea, the US, and Japan, and an unprecedented 400 saves in the KBO League, Oh Seung-hwan even took a special measure to revive.