*This content was translated by AI.
Lotte Giants foreign pitcher Jeremy Bissell (31) is enduring a rough KBO debut season. It is due to repeatedly disappointing defensive plays that occur regardless of his own ability.
On the 24th, Bissell started against the visiting KIA Tigers at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season, pitching 7 innings, allowing 7 hits (1 home run), issuing no walks, recording 11 strikeouts, and giving up 2 earned runs, achieving a Quality Start Plus (7+ innings with 3 or fewer earned runs).
Despite his dazzling performance, he could not secure the win. Opposing starter Adam Oller pitched 9 innings, allowing 3 hits, 2 walks, and 11 strikeouts without allowing a run, leading Lotte to a 0-4 loss. Bissell recorded his second loss of the season (1 win).
Excluding the home run allowed to Kim Do-young in the bottom of the 7th, there was nothing to criticize in his pitching. Bissell threw a fastball clocking up to 155 km/h, along with a forkball, sweeper, two-seam fastball, and cutter, striking out batters in every inning through the 6th.
KIA batters were helpless against the sweeper, which drifted outside for right-handed hitters. With such a diverse repertoire, even prepared batters could not help but swing and miss. For left-handed hitters, the forkball dropped sharply toward the top of the strike zone, making it difficult to time. Consequently, all KIA hits before the 7th inning were merely lucky balls that barely made contact.
A single mistake decided the win or loss. The sweeper thrown to Kim Do-young in the bottom of the 7th ended up in the middle of the plate and went over the left-field wall. From that moment, Bissell began to waver slightly. The disappointing defense also mentally broke Bissell. After Nam Seong-beom's double to left-center, Han Jun-soo's hit ball headed toward center field. At that time, Han Jun-soo's hit was not fast enough to be a routine fly ball to the center fielder.
However, center fielder Shin Yun-hoo, who was positioned closer to the wall due to awareness of Han Jun-soo's power-hitting potential, started slowly. It seems he judged that the ball would be difficult to catch, so he did not attempt a diving catch and it was recorded as a hit to center field. Eventually, pinch-hitter Ko Jong-wook's RBI single to right field allowed Bissell to surrender additional runs. The sight of Han Jun-soo smiling at his lucky hit contrasted with Bissell expressing his frustration with his whole body, leaving fans watching in sorrow.
In fact, looking back at previous games, Bissell's frustration would be understandable. Bissell, who joined Lotte on a one-year contract worth 1 million dollars this season, was expected to be a key player alongside Alvin Rodriguez (28). As a one-two punch capable of throwing fastballs exceeding 155 km/h, many predicted he would be compared to Cody Ponce and Ryan Weiss, who led Hanwha to the Korean Series last year.
Contrary to expectations, Bissell's surface-level statistics so far are close to disappointing. In 5 games, he has 1 win, 2 losses, an ERA of 4.44, 24 1/3 innings, 5 walks, 32 strikeouts, a WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) of 1.40, and a batting average against of 0.290, ranking 20th in the league by ERA. He has managed only two Quality Starts (6+ innings with 3 or fewer earned runs). Looking at the detailed metrics, one might say even an 'Eokka' (forced criticism) cannot be this bad.
Looking only at ERA without defensive support (FIP), the treatment is poor. FIP is a metric created to gauge a pitcher's true ability by excluding factors such as fielding and park environment that are beyond the pitcher's control. The variables used to calculate FIP include only walks (including intentional walks), strikeouts, home runs, and innings pitched.
Bissell's FIP is 1.89, an overwhelming first place in the league. This is similar to Ponce's 1.92, who last year became the first foreign pitcher in KBO history to win the four major awards and MVP. Furthermore, the second-place FIP belongs to Oller, who achieved a 9-inning shutout in today's game, at 2.50, showing a significant gap. The difference between ERA and FIP is 2.55, with Bissell holding an overwhelming first place. The second place is Jack Log of the Doosan Bears with 1.46, showing a considerable gap. Although FIP has its limitations, there is no disagreement that Bissell is not achieving results commensurate with his ability.
Other detailed metrics also prove how good a pitcher Bissell is. Bissell's strikeouts per 9 innings are 11.84, ranking first among pitchers who have met the qualification innings. His walks per 9 innings are 1.85, ranking 8th in the league, making him a top-tier starter wherever he goes. However, only when Bissell pitches do the fielders' concentrations waver. This happened in the game against Busan SSG four days ago, and the same was true for the previous game against Busan Hanwha on the 18th. It was so bad that during the Hanwha game, he even tried to catch a foul fly ball himself and was removed due to dizziness.
This misfortune is not limited to Bissell alone. Lotte starting pitchers have an ERA of 3.32, leading the league. They are also responsible for the second-most innings in the league, averaging over 5 innings per start, yet they have secured only 6 wins (9 losses). There is a need for focus in both batting and defense.
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*This content was translated by AI.
