Jamsil Stadium on the afternoon of the 13th, when the match (Hanwha vs. LG) was canceled due to monsoon rain.
In the meantime, a veteran foreign pitcher who had dedicated himself to his team had not yet returned to his lodgings. It was to have a conversation with his commander. The main character is the 5th year of the KBO League this year. It was Casey Kelly (34), a long-haired foreigner who led LG’s mound.
In an interview with reporters on the 13th, LG director Yeom Kyung-yeop said, “Kelly asked me to have tea time, so I’m waiting. I also wanted to talk to Kelly, but I requested it first. I pulled them all out,” he said.
Yeom is a director who is better at communicating than anyone else. He is good at sharing thoughts and solving stories through conversation without misunderstanding. He basically has a heart of respect for the players. This is because he knows better than anyone else that the team will last a long time without collapsing like a sand castle. On this day, coach Yeom also revealed his philosophy, saying, “The way each foreign player communicates must be different.”안전사이트
The same goes for Kelly. Director Yeom is well aware of the fact that Kelly has devoted himself as an ace for LG. Kelly has been loved by many LG fans as the first starter representing the Twins for the past four years. He pitched in 114 games in four seasons before this season, went 58-31 with an ERA of 2.89 (224 earned runs in 697 innings) and 555 strikeouts.
2019 14 wins 12 losses average ERA 2.55, 2020 15 wins 7 losses average ERA 3.32, 2021 13 wins 8 losses average ERA 3.15 achieved good results. Then, last season, he won the KBO League’s most wins title with a record of 16 wins and 4 losses with an ERA of 2.54 and 153 strikeouts.
Kelly, who did that, started 18 games this season and recorded 6-5 with a 4.44 ERA, not showing the same performance as in previous years. He allowed 61 runs (53 earned) with 26 walks, 71 strikeouts, and 115 hits (6 home runs) in 107⅓ innings. He is showing an ups and downs so that there are 5 games with 5 runs or more. For this reason, there were even rumors of a replacement. However, the command tower dismissed rumors of withdrawal, saying, “Kelly will go all the way this season.”
Kelly ended the first half with the match against Hanwha in Jamsil on the 12th. Against Hanwha, he pitched 7 innings, 5 hits, 2 strikeouts and 2 runs (2 earned). Although he was not supported by the other line and suffered the yoke of defeat, he extended the innings with catchy pitching. Regarding the game that day, coach Yeom said, “I think that the pitching design should be changed in the second half. The pitching design and pitching pattern were different from when I got hit a lot in the first inning (against Hanwha on the 12th) and from the third inning (when it was good).” said.
“We will talk about which pitch to use at a certain point, what results are coming out for each pitch count, and why the hit rate is high after 2 strikes because the swing rate is low. In the end, the changeup is the deciding ball, but the changeup hit rate is 0. It is the highest with a ball count of -2. Then, it means that the changeup is not a deciding ball. We need to accurately convey this story to the player through data, such as how to use the changeup to be more effective.”
LG is challenging the presidency this season. To win the Korean Series, it is important to first place in the pennant race. In that respect, if Kelly revives in the second half, the team is expected to gain more momentum. In addition, Kelly appeared in 6 games in the past season and showed a strong appearance with 3 wins and 1 loss with an ERA of 2.23. Will Kelly be able to roar in the fall with LG fans?