"The longest scam in life → regular season starts from zero again," said a new Kiwoom rookie who was obsessed with Korea baseball.

*This content was translated by AI.

"All the preparations are complete. Now I want to play a game where the win or loss is decided."

Kiwoom Heroes' new foreign right-hander Nathan Wiles (28) shared his excitement and determination ahead of the opening of his first regular season in Korea. Unlike the United States, he was excited about the world of the regular league match, where all records are now returned to "0."

Wiles started the exhibition game of the 2026 season against the LG Twins at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 24th and became the winning pitcher with four hits, one strikeout and no runs in five innings.

Above all, it was a very encouraging game for Wiles, who received the position of the third starter, to rebound from his poor record of five hits (one home run) and four runs in three innings against Sajik Lotte on the 16th. Wiles, who threw 62 pitches on the day, showed stable pitching by throwing a mixture of fastball, curveball, slider, and change-up. The maximum speed of the fastball was 148 kilometers per hour. He struck out only one, but it was very impressive that he had no walks. In his career (125 games) in the minor league, he was a pitcher who showed stable ball control to the extent that he had more strikeouts than walks.

Unlike the Lotte match, Wiles pitched without any ups and downs against LG on the day. In an interview with reporters shortly after the end of the game, he said, "I adjusted the pitching mechanism to some extent with the pitching coach. In particular, it focused on elaborating pelvic and shoulder movements. After the Lotte match, he focused on learning the adjustments. It's definitely better. I want to continue this adjustment process in the future," he said.

Wiles, who has played in both exhibition games, said, "There are still a lot of things to fix, but overall I'm satisfied. In the end, the regular league, which must be proved by the results, is approaching. Still, it's gradually, but I feel like it's getting better for sure," he laughed.

He has also adjusted to some extent to Korean baseball. Wiles said of the KBO League's impressions, although it is an exhibition game, "The stadium is noisy (unlike the United States), but I personally really prefer it. I feel sincere about the energy given by the passionate audience. When the regular season opens, the stands will be full, so I'm really looking forward to it," he said.

Wiles played nearly two months of camp from Taiwan to exhibition games. It was different from the U.S., where exhibition games are played directly in the spring camp. In response, he said, "It was the longest spring camp in my life," and after sticking his tongue to the long camp schedule unique to Korean baseball, he said, "Now I'm really ready. "I'm itching to play a game where the result is important, and the result is decided," he stressed.

Finally, Wiles said, "I don't care if I did very well or bad in camp and exhibition games. Now the preparation is complete and all the figures go back to '0'. From now on, it is a time when all pitches remain on the record and directly lead to results. He started preparing for his first appearance, showing his sincerity that "the real joy will begin from now on."

According to Kiwoom coach Seol Jong-jin (53), Wiles' first appearance in the regular league is an away game against SSG Landers on March 31. Shortly after the game, coach Seol said of Wiles' good pitching, "Wiles pitched well. He looks better than his last appearance. It is encouraging that the breaking ball control is being caught."

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

*This content was translated by AI.