"Thank God I'm back healthy." Noh Kyung-eun, who conquered the national university, and Cho Byung-hyun, 'Noh Kyung-eun SSG' goes more slowly.

*This content was translated by AI.

Kim Noh Kyung-eun (42) and Cho Byung-hyun (24), the backdoor duo of SSG Landers who played in 77 games and 69 games, are back. Coach Lee Sung-yong (55), who has been eagerly waiting for them, expressed his strong welcome.

Noh Kyung-eun and Cho Byung-hyun returned home via Incheon International Airport after the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) on the 16th.

Later, he visited SSG Landers Field, where the exhibition game against the Samsung Lions was held on the 17th, and laid down with coach Lee Sung-yong and colleagues.

According to the SSG club, head coach Lee Sung-yong said, "It's a relief just to come healthy. I met Kyung-eun earlier and she lost about 4kg of weight. "I told him to eat a lot," he said. "Byeong-hyun has a good face. We worked hard together for the country, so we have to manage it well and play a good season for ourselves," he said.

They are pitchers who took the mound harder than anyone else last year. Noh Kyung-eun has played 77 games, the third most among bullpen pitchers, after Lotte Giants' Chung Hyun-soo (47 ⅔ in 82 games) and LG Twins' Kim Jin-sung (78 ⅔ in 70 innings). He played 80 innings, the second most after Lotte's Jeon Sa-min (82 ⅓ innings).

Nevertheless, he achieved tremendous results of being the oldest hold king for two consecutive years and more than 30 holds for three consecutive years. He boasted three wins, six losses, three saves and a 2.14 ERA.

Cho Byung-hyun also played 69 games and 67 ⅓ in his second season this full season, but had a career high season with 5 wins, 4 losses, 30 saves and ERA 1.60.

The two players, who played until fall baseball, were selected for the national team side by side. In January, he left for a training camp in Saipan and quickly improved his physical condition while watching the WBC.

He then convened in Okinawa, Japan, in the middle of last month to conduct practical training, and then played in the WBC finals through Osaka and Tokyo.

Although he exposed bullpen anxiety throughout this tournament, it was a story that had nothing to do with SSG's duo. Noh Kyung-eun, who gave up two hits in the first group game against the Czech Republic and allowed a walk in the top of the 10th inning, pitched well in the top of the 10th inning. In the final match against Australia, he suddenly took the mound from the second inning in place of starter Son Joo-young (LG), who threw only one inning and was replaced early due to an elbow injury, but he blocked two innings with one hit and one strikeout, completing a miraculous scenario to advance to the quarterfinals.

In the quarterfinals with the Dominican Republic, which suffered a 0-10 cold game defeat, he took the mound at the bottom of the second inning with two outs and runners on first and second, but allowed consecutive hits to Juan Soto and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the third inning, and then was replaced and homered to the successor, increasing the number of runs to two.

The ERA became 4.91, with five hits, one walk, three strikeouts and two runs in three Noh Kyung-eun innings in four games, but national team coach Ryu Ji-hyun thanked the Noh Kyung-eun several times and mentioned his name without hesitation as a trainee.

Cho Byung-hyun shone more with one hit (one homer) in five innings, three walks, four strikeouts, and one run and ERA 1.80. He was the most overwhelming pitcher in the bullpen with Ko Woo-suk (Detroit, ERA 0.00) with a 0.067 hit rate and a 0.80 on-base allowed per inning (WHIP).

He pitched one inning with three outs against the Czech Republic and hit a home run by Masataka Yoshida (Boston) in the bottom of the third inning when he was being dragged 3-4 against Japan, but he later finished the inning by catching Kazuma Okamoto (Toronto) and pitched one scoreless inning in the bottom of the fourth inning.

In the match against Australia, the team took the mound at the bottom of the eighth inning with one out and one base, allowing a walk, but ended the inning by catching two batters neatly, and in the bottom of the ninth inning, they blocked without a run despite their control being somewhat shaky, confirming Korea's advance to the quarterfinals.

In the match against Tokinica, Julio Rodriguez, Agustin Ramirez, and Heraldo Perdomo took the mound in the bottom of the fifth inning, falling behind 0-7. Each ball was an impressively powerful series of pitches.

The two are more experienced, but I am worried about the fatigue accumulated and the resulting injury. Therefore, SSG is expected to manage more thoroughly. You can read the thought that he will not strain himself for the time being in the words of coach Lee Sung-yong, "We have worked hard together for the country, so we have to manage it well and play a good season for ourselves."

Director Lee said, "I thought Byung-hyun and Kyung-eun would play their roles well when I saw them last year," adding, "First, they will take a day off and join normally the day after tomorrow. After that, I'm going to discuss with the pitcher's part and think about when I'll start," he said.

Last year, SSG was the overwhelming No. 1 team in the bullpen. At the center was coach Kyung Heon-ho's thorough management. They thoroughly divided the pitchers so that they could not overdo themselves and let them rest when they needed a break. That's why Noh Kyung-eun, who finished the season, said, "I don't think I threw even 50 innings."

It is expected that such SSG will use them more carefully for the time being. Perhaps at the beginning of the season, it is easy to see them even in an urgent situation.

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*This content was translated by AI.