"Korean sounds like a code." Shy 158km Samsung's handsome foreigner dreamed of a 20-hold-three machine [Okinawa Station]

*This content was translated by AI.

Yura Miyaji (27) of the Samsung Lions aimed for 20 holds and many strikeouts in the Asian quarter.

Miyaji met with reporters at the 2026 Samsung Lions spring camp at Akama Ball Park in Onnason, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan on the 22nd and said, "I entered the country on January 12 and have adapted a lot now. It's still difficult to say hello in Korean style, but I'll try to do well as soon as possible," he said.

Samsung was the first Asian quarter player in the KBO and chose Miyaji, who threw fast balls with a maximum speed of 158 kilometers per hour and an average speed of 149.6 kilometers. Samsung is the first to experience professional performance. Two years ago, he played for Tokushima Indigo Sox like Shirakawa Keisho (25) who played for the SSG Landers and Doosan Bears as a temporary substitute foreign player.

The Samsung club highly evaluated Miyaji's potential, which is equipped with a variety of pitches such as fastballs, splitters, sliders, and curves. As he has no experience in full season yet, he is slowly raising his pace to play 144 games.

The player himself wants to match his feet with his teammates who speed up quickly next to him, but the word he hears the most is "slowly." Thanks to this, Miyaji's most catchy words became "slowly."

Miyaji said, "Today (22nd) was my second bullpen pitching, but I didn't understand it myself. The coaches say it's okay because they're doing a lot better than I think. He said, "It's still in the stage of raising the pace, so we can do it slowly and well."

Samsung's pitching team is famous for its loud and energetic atmosphere. Miyaji, who is usually shy, is not familiar with Korean yet. However, Yang Chang-seop, Lee Jae-ik, Choi Won-tae, and Lee Ho-min are quickly melting into the team.

Miyaji said, "My former teammate Shirakawa went to KBO once, so I have been interested in Korea since then. I'm looking for food or culture and learning Korean, but it still sounds like a fast-talking code. The Korean language that I can speak now is slow. I was told to take it slow every time, so I knew how to do it," he said with an awkward smile.

Miyaji, who has been attracting attention for his good looks since his departure, is also popular in Okinawa camps. Samsung's fans must have been surprised at the camp site because they had never played in a crowded field. However, Samsung has been responding to requests for autographs, and is adapting itself to the most dignified and popular team among last year's home spectators.

He wants to break the hold or save point record in last year's Samsung bullpen. Bae Chan-seung had the highest 19 holds and Kim Jae-yoon had 13 saves. Samsung manager Park Jin-man also said, "Miyaji played only as a bullpen from Japan. I'm looking forward to playing a bullpen because I have the finishing experience," he said, looking forward to playing a must-win role.

Miyaji said, "I want to continue playing without breaking away from the first team until the start of the season and the end. I'm a pitcher who strikes out a lot with strong pitching. I haven't set a specific number, but I want to do more than the saves and holds recorded by Samsung players last year," he said.

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*This content was translated by AI.