*This content was translated by AI.
"Because of that weak, complacent ball..."
He had a chance from his debut season, but was not even given a chance for nearly five years. He grinded his teeth to improve his shortcomings, but one home run he gave to his former team was so painful.
Bae Dong-hyun (28, Keum Heroes) grinded his teeth and did not repeat the same failure. After a whopping 1,639 days of waiting, he won his second career victory.
Bae Dong-hyun started the visiting game of the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League against SSG Landers at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 1st and threw 85 pitches in five innings, allowing five hits, one walk, and four strikeouts.
The team won 11-2 and Bae Dong-hyun won his second professional victory in as many as four years and five months, or 1,639 days, since his victory at Hanwha Eagles on October 5, 2021. It is the first time that he has won a starting championship since his debut in 2021.
Bae Dong-hyun, who went through Gyeonggi High School and Hanil Jangshin University, was nominated by Hanwha in the 42nd round of the second round in 2021, and was expected to play as a bullpen pitcher for 38 innings in 20 games. He also won his first victory since his debut, looking as if he would only walk on a flower path.
However, he headed straight to the South Korean military athletic unit (Sangmu) after the end of the season. He also showed growth by playing a must-win role in Sangmu, but after being discharged from the military, he failed to take a chance in the first team due to the remaining injuries. In the 2024 Futures League, he did not get a chance despite his monstrous performance of 5 wins and 7 holds average (ERA) of 0.30 in 29 games. Last year, he played 41 ⅔ in 37 games and recorded 3 wins, 4 losses, 1 save, and 4 holds, but there was no first-team call-up.
After the season came a new opportunity in the second draft. Kiwoom named Bae Dong-hyun in the third round and entered the starting competition. In the exhibition game, he allowed five runs in two ⅔ innings as a bullpen, but he pitched four innings of seven strikeouts and no runs against SSG on the 22nd of last month when he started.
Kim Yoon-ha, who was scheduled to be the fourth starter, was injured, and Bae Dong-hyun, who prepared for the season as a starter, had an opportunity. In his appearance as a bullpen pitcher for the opening game, he failed to catch any outcount and dropped his head after being hit by a three-run home run by Shim Woo-joon. The team headed to overtime and ended up with a painful walk-off loss.
This day was different. Had to save a team that has lost three games in a row. The fastball with a maximum speed of 148 kilometers per hour was well controlled and SSG batters' bats were easily pulled out on curves, sliders and changeups.
Bae Dong-hyun, who took the mound with three runs from the first inning, gave up a hit to Choi Jung and a walk to Kim Jae-hwan, but he started off in a good mood by turning Ko Myung-joon into a ground ball to shortstop.
He also sent out a runner in the second inning, but he struck out two to erase the crisis, and put the first batter on base in the third and fourth innings, but he blocked it without a crisis.
In the fifth inning, the lineup scored two more runs and struck out swinging with a slider that ran to Choi Jeong, the No. 1 home run in the KBO, to secure the winning requirements.
The batters gained more strength, and bullpen pitchers also defended their team's victory with stable pitching. The fruit of the long-awaited victory went to Bae Dong-hyun.
After the game, head coach Seol Jong-jin said, "Starting player Bae Dong-hyun played a perfect game. "I played my role perfectly with five scoreless innings," he said. "I would have felt burdened by the poor results in my first appearance (against Hanwha on the 28th), but he showed great pitching by overcoming the burden on himself in today's game. I'm looking forward to the future," he said.
Bae Dong-hyun, whom I met after the game, said, "I'm playing baseball properly in the first team for the first time in five years since 2021, and even though it was one game, it was a game where my doubts about myself over the past five years could turn into confidence. "I want to praise myself for doing well," he said. "In that five years, coaches and trainers at Hanwha took care of me a lot. There were also minor injuries. I think I prepared for 5 years to get to the first team. I kept running for my growth," he said, looking back on the past day.
The second draft was an opportunity. Bae Dong-hyun said, "There will be an opportunity, but I didn't think there would be much," and added, "He picked me, but I want to throw it well so that it can turn into confidence, not distrust."
So the slump in the first game was painful. Bae Dong-hyun said, "Rather than being upset, I was very angry. "I waited for five years, but I was very annoyed and angry about me because the team's victory was blown away because of one weak, complacent ball," he said. "I thought a lot internally without showing off my anger against other teams."
Bae Dong-hyun, who ground his teeth, showed a completely different pitch. I actively sought help from my colleagues. "The plans I've thought of so far have gone well. I've talked a lot with the power analysis coaches, but I also hear a lot about baseball from (Park) Jin-young, (An) Woo-jin, (Oh) Seok-ju, and (Kim) Sung-jin, he said. "It's true that I'm lacking a lot more than them, so I wanted to get at least a little something from the players with first-team experience, and it was good to be able to use it little by little from the last exhibition game."
The grateful people came to mind. Bae Dong-hyun, who said, "I think I should thank my parents," said, "After that, I heard a lot of good things from Lee Tae-yang, (Um) Sang-baek, (Kim) Bum-soo, (Kim) Min-woo, and Lee Min-woo, who were in Hanwha." I talked a lot with Sangbaek in Daejeon, and I think the teachings of the older brothers made me. I was stuck with the older brothers who were the biggest growing up. It must be noisy again because we have a group chat room, but I'm going to say thank you," he laughed.
Bae Dong-hyun's time is just beginning. The ultimate goal is full-time for the first team, but it doesn't matter where you go. "I'm trying to do it properly in my role," he said. "I'm a starting pitcher, but I haven't been able to bring a lot of innings because it's my first game, but I think I should take the innings as much as possible to save the bullpen's strength and think bigger."
It's still an unfamiliar name to baseball fans. Bae Dong-hyun said, "I'm an aggressive pitcher. I want to remain a pitcher who targets a lot of strike zones, and rather than running away, I will fight and win," he appealed.
He dreams of facing Ryu Hyun-jin, his former senior team. Bae Dong-hyun said, "I'm sharpening my knife. Ryu Hyun-jin took good care of me, and he said, "Let's meet as a starter." My senior told me that, so I said that the answer was an honor. It's still like a dream, but if I throw well, I think the opportunity will come."
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*This content was translated by AI.
