Taiwanese media praised Sun Dong-yeol, "He was a real legend because he overcame the failure of Sun Dong-yeol → we remember."

*This content was translated by AI.

A Taiwanese sports media outlet is drawing attention by focusing on former national team coach Sun Dong-yeol (63). In particular, he praised the revival from the failure of the 1996 season, the first season to enter the Japanese professional baseball (NPB).

Taiwan's sports media Sports News (Sports Vision) posted a special article on the 5th, "From Mudeungsan Bombers to Nagoya Sun, the Fall and Resurrection of Sun Dong-yeol." It is interpreted as an article highlighting another Korean player in line with the news of legendary Korean batter Lee Dae-ho (44) taking over as coach of the Jungshin Brothers.

The media noted the physical handicap of agitation fever. The athletic report said, "Seondongyeol has a strong physique of 184 centimeters, but his hands and feet were relatively small compared to his height. In particular, hand size, which was important for pitchers, was a big obstacle, but Sun Dong-yeol developed his own specialty, high-speed slider. This species of pitch is very unique. It was mainly focused on the middle finger, and it was a slider with a sharp angle, although it was as fast a fastball as a fastball due to natural wrist strength. It was like a harness that was hard to hit by batters," he wrote.

"In addition to his skills, Sun Dong-yeol also worked hard to train his physical strength. He insisted on running 6km every day to strengthen his lower body and core muscles. It combined with natural flexibility and allowed pitchers to avoid shoulder and elbow injuries that are common to pitchers. In addition to conquering the KBO league, he added, "I'm going to enter the NPB."

The media paid particular attention to Sun Dong-yeol's NPB days. Sun Dong-yeol, who moved to the Chunichi Dragons ahead of the 1996 season, struggled with a 5.50 ERA with 5-1-3 saves in 38 games in his first season. However, he rebounded with a 1.28 ERA with one win, one loss and 38 saves in 43 games in the 1997 season and played until the 1999 season. Sun Dong-yeol's NPB career ERA finished with 2.70.

The athletic newsletter said, "Chunichi had high expectations for Sun Dong-yeol. He even gave the 20th number, which was attached by Hoshino Sentchii, the coach at the time. However, in the first season, Sun Dong-yeol collapsed. I even heard the sad news that it was my mother's statue. There were multiple reasons for the failure of Sun Dong-yeol in the 1996 season. The opposing teams thoroughly analyzed Sun Dong-yeol's pitching habits and targeted them. The strike zone, which was different from Korea, also halved the power of Sun Dong-yeol's slider. The season is close to the biggest humiliation of Sun Dong-yeol, a Korean national hero. "I went down to the second division and was even criticized by the Japanese media as a second-class player," he recalled.

In the end, the athletic newsletter praised Sun Dong-yeol's "resilience of recovery." The media said, "Returning to Korea may have been the easiest option for him. However, he put down his pride and tried to break his pitching habit by actively asking for advice from the second-tier coach. In the end, the "finishing tag" was out in the opening game of the 1997 season and stood tall as the overwhelming "Nagoya Sun." His efforts have earned respect from the Japanese media," he said.

Finally, the athletic newsletter said, "The humility and indomitable will of Sun Dong-yeol shown in Japan illustrate why they are legends. After retirement, he is now passionate about coaching young players. A baseball boy who used to imitate his brother is now acting as a mentor. "It will remain a true legend, not just the achievements of a great pitcher," he said.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.