Hanwha FA’s model student even filled the selection hole

“Coach, I know it’s convenient for you, but if you have a pitcher like me” The Hanwha FA model filled the starting hole

Hanwha’s mound’s all-around key Lee Tae-yang (33) has even filled the starting hole. As a member of Hanwha, he was thrilled to win the starting game for the first time in six years.

Lee Tae-yang started the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League NC away game at Changwon NC Park on the 16th and led Hanwha to a 4–3 victory with four hits, no outs, and one run in five innings. Hanwha is on a three-game winning streak.

In mid-June, Hanwha, which had a hole in the fourth and fifth starters due to Kim Min-woo’s injury and Jang Min-jae and Han Seung-hyuk’s sluggishness, hit an SOS to Lee Tae-yang. Lee Tae-yang, who won seven games as a starter in SSG, the unified winner last year, threw regardless of starting or saving positions depending on the team’s circumstances.

This year, he pitched well as an alternative starter against Daejeon LG (2 scoreless innings) on April 23 and Jamsil LG (3⅔ innings scoreless innings) on May 20. And this time, he joined the official rotation, not an alternative starter, and made his third start of the season. With 63 balls, he even won his first start with one run and a clean throw in five innings.

Lee Tae-yang, who gave up a triple to Park Min-woo in the first inning when right fielder Kim Tae-yeon failed to catch a diving catch, lost his first run by Park Kun-woo but blocked it without additional runs until the fifth inning. His maximum speed was 144 kilometers, but he threw a mix of fastballs (24), sliders (17), curves, and forkballs (11). He blocked the fifth inning with only 63 balls, with 46 strikes, accounting for 73% of the total. There was only one strikeout, but he showed the essence of the pitch that he threw aggressively and caught.

Lee Tae-yang, who won his second win with his first start of the season, also lowered his ERA from 2.43 to 2.37. The starting win is the first time in 326 days since the match against Munhak Doosan (one run in five innings) on September 24 last year when he was a member of SSG. It is the first time in 2,250 days that he has recorded a starting win for Hanwha since the match against Suwon KT (two earned runs in five innings) on June 18, 2017. Lee Tae-yang, who was traded to SK (currently SSG) in June 2020, returned to Hanwha with a four-year, 2.5 billion won FA contract after last season.

After the game, Lee Tae-yang said, “I feel really good to be able to win the starting game in Hanwha uniform again. I was away from the team for a while, but I always had affection. “I’m grateful to the club for giving me a chance again,” he said. “I met good seniors and colleagues at SSG and had a good experience. It’s an experience that you can’t afford. Although he was not the main character in SSG, his view of baseball has widened as he experiences big games and wins. “Even when throwing the first pitch, my vision widened enough to throw two or three pitches, and I lost my mind to be chased by myself,” he said. 스포츠토토

He was put into not only winning games but also chasing situations this season, but his position was changed back to starting. Lee Tae-yang, who is usually a pitcher, is busy adjusting, but has thrown variously throughout his career, has not been difficult to fulfill his duties. He said, “I’m adaptable. He was in the bullpen, but he waited and prepared thinking that he didn’t know when the opportunity to start would come. “I thought it was natural for my juniors to have a chance to start first, but I wanted to show myself as a starter as much as I could when the opportunity came,” he said.

Due to the team’s lack of long relief, the bullpen did not have many chances to start. There may have been some regrets about this, but Lee Tae-yang raised himself with a smile, saying, “It’s not a shame because the coaching staff chooses positions,” adding, “Coaches and coaches would be comfortable to have players like me.” After the game, Hanwha manager Choi Won-ho also said, “Lee Tae-yang, who always plays his role in his position, neatly blocked five innings as a starter.” “He showed really good pitching,” he said.