Baek Jung-hyun (36, Samsung Lions), who had a disappointing 2022, returned to the ‘Baek Show (Baek Jeong-hyun + Kershow)’ mode in 2021. It was regrettable that he missed the great record ‘Perfect Game’ right in front of his eyes, but it was a dazzling pitch that made it impossible to stop admiring it.
Baek Jung-hyun pitched 93 pitches in 8 innings in a 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League visit game against Kiwoom Heroes held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro-gu, Seoul on the 18th, giving up 2 runs with 3 hits and 6 strikeouts.
Baek Jung-hyun, who made his 2007 debut and only played for Samsung, had a career high season in 2021. Baek Jeong-hyeon, who gave up 5 runs in 2 innings against Hanwha Eagles on the 6th and gave up 1 run in 5 innings against SSG Landers on the 12th, seemed to breathe a sigh of relief in the selection competition.
However, it was difficult to see him as a position with guaranteed opportunities yet. Before the game, coach Park Jin-man said, “I have no choice but to do so” when asked if Baek Jung-hyun will also play on Sunday. He said it wasn’t the best way, but he couldn’t help it when Albert Suarez was away.
When the lid was opened, the hitters, who were raised by Baek Jung-hyun, withdrew helplessly. The triplets continued endlessly.
A fastball with a maximum speed of only 138 km per hour penetrated every corner of the strike zone, and when a 10 km slow changeup was added, the bats of Kiwoom batters continued to spin. There was not a single crisis until the 7th episode. No one expected that he would spread such a stable pitch.
With six out counts left until the ninth inning, Baek Jung-hyun’s pitches were only 80. It was a pitch he could hold on to even the ninth inning. The question was whether to allow on base.
Episode 8 was disappointing. Baek Jeong-hyeon, who struck out Hyeong-jong Lee as the first batter, induced Edison Russell to hit a normal ground ball. He thought he would be able to easily increase the out count, but Baek Jung-hyun’s outstretched hand led to a very painful result. The ball hit his glove and deflected, and shortstop Lee Jae-hyeon quickly chased after it, but Russell had already penetrated first base.
What is even more regrettable is that, aside from the perfect game, the no-hit and no-run was also broken. This is because being hit by Baek’s glove was recorded as an infield hit, not an error. Afterwards, Park Joo-hong induced an infield ground ball to catch a double out and simply finished the inning, which doubled the regret.
In the 42-year history of the KBO League, which opened in 1982, there has never been a single perfect game. Last year, in the opening game against NC Dinos, Wilmer Font of SSG Landers did not allow a single hitter to base for 9 innings and performed ‘perfect pitching’. However, it did not become an official perfect game. This is because the game went to overtime and Font went down from the mound at the end of the ninth inning.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, when second baseman Kim Ji-chan failed to catch a ground ball and almost sent the runner to first base, Won Tae-in, who was watching from the dugout, reacted violently in surprise. David Buchanan, who was sitting next to him, calmed Won Tae-in down and gestured to him to stay calm.
Even in the MLB, when the atmosphere seems like a perfect game or no-run, etc., great records are likely to come out, they react extremely cautiously so as not to touch the pitcher’s nerves as much as possible. It can lead to bad results, so it creates an atmosphere where you don’t even flutter. It seemed that Buchanan was also concerned about this situation and calmed Won Tae-in.
However, did he lose his strength after episode 8? In the bottom of the ninth, Baek Jung-hyeon was hit with a double by Kim Dong-heon and a 1-run triple by Lim Byung-wook to the right of center fielder. In the end, he passed the ball to Lee Seung-hyun and retreated. However, even after that, the successor dug into the home. The final record was 8 innings and 2 runs. The bullpen pitchers continued to falter, allowing the team to chase from 6-0 to 6-3, and even closer Oh Seung-hwan took the mound as a finisher. It was fortunate that Samsung managed to secure a 6-4 victory despite unexpected use of pitching staff.
Regardless of whether or not he achieves a record, the person he will be most satisfied with is Samsung coach Park Jin-man. Before the game, he expressed regret, saying, “The mound shakes when the hit comes back. The pitching balance is not right.”
먹튀검증 With the good pitching that day, Baek’s ERA dropped significantly from 7.71 to 4.80. In addition, Baek Jung-hyun won the season’s beast girl after two consecutive losses.