*This content was translated by AI.
The new Asian quarter this season. Hanwha Eagles boldly chose Taiwanese player Wang Yancheng (25, Taiwan). As Hanwha chose a "high risk high return" for a pitcher with abundant potential, Wang Yancheng's eyes are also facing a very high place.
Wang Yancheng met with reporters ahead of Hanwha's departure from the first spring camp in Melbourne, Australia, through Incheon International Airport on the 23rd and said, "I also know that KBO is going to the United States a lot these days. I'm also looking forward to seeing good results in Korea and then going in a good direction (US)."
Both Cody Ponce (Toronto) and Ryan Weiss (Houston), who played for Hanwha last year, experienced Asian baseball first and then headed to the big leagues through the KBO League.
Weiss played in the Taiwan Professional Baseball (CPBL), and Ponce played in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), just like Wang Yancheng. For Wang Yancheng, it is a good success story that gives him the confidence that he can give it a try.
You can dream as much as you want. It also has that much potential. Wang Yancheng is a left-handed pitcher who plays for Taiwan's national team and is a pitcher with a fast ball of up to 154 kilometers per hour and a sharp slider as his main weapon.
He signed an international fostering contract with the NPB Rakuten Golden Eagles in 2019 and played in the Eastern League until this season with 20 wins, 11 losses and an ERA of 3.62 by throwing in 343 innings in 85 games. This season, he made a strong impression with 10 wins (second place in the Eastern League) and 5 losses and ERA 3.26 (third place in the Eastern League) in 116 innings in 22 games.
It is a pleasant scenario for Hanwha to be able to advance to the U.S. based on its performance this season as Wang Yancheng wishes. This is because recruiting from the big league means that the league has an overwhelming performance. This means Hanwha, which had to be satisfied with advancing to the Korean Series last year, can take a step closer to its dream of winning the championship. Moreover, since he was hired for only $100,000 (about 147 million won), if Wang Yancheng advances to the U.S., it can be seen as enjoying all the benefits that Hanwha can gain.
Wang Yancheng, who is new to the KBO League for the first time, said, "I'm looking forward to training abroad for the first time, and there are many experienced and talented players in Hanwha," adding, "The first thing to do is to get close to my teammates, and then I want to plan in detail how I will play this season with the coaching staff."
If two foreign pitchers, Ryu Hyun-jin and Moon Dong-ju and Wang Yancheng start, Hanwha is expected to build a strong starting lineup as strong as last year. Wang Yancheng also said, "I'll follow the direction the team wants, but I've been a starting pitcher in the past and it's a little more comfortable to start."
He builds up his body in Hanwha, but in the WBC, he will face South Korea in the group stage. Yang Sang-moon, the pitching coach, said, "I'm worried. What should I do?" he said with a smile. For the team, he should help them to be in the best shape, but this is a joke because as the Taiwanese national team, they could put a dagger in Korea.
Wang Yancheng said, "We are preparing for our physical condition according to the WBC, but it is a slow starter compared to others. "I think it will be a good experience," he said when asked about the possibility of facing Noh Si-hwan, Moon Hyun-bin, and Choi Jae-hoon, who said, "We are preparing well to meet the WBC as much as possible."
On this day, Hanwha's team gathered at the airport from around 4:30 a.m. to leave the country, and many fans saw off the team even at an early hour. Wang Yancheng, who indirectly experienced the support of hot Hanwha fans, said, "I will try for Hanwha. Many fans expressed their desire to come (to the stadium) and come to Daejeon to support me."
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*This content was translated by AI.
