*This content was translated by AI.
Sung Young-tak (22), the closer for the KIA Tigers who has been reliably guarding the back door with a 0.57 ERA, has not appeared on the mound recently. Fortunately, he is not injured or anything like that. He has simply been in a state of 'open but closed for business' for an extended period due to game situations on those days.
Sung Young-tak has appeared in relief in all 13 games this season, recording 3 holds and 3 saves without a win or loss, with a 0.57 ERA. Over a total of 15⅔ innings, he has allowed 12 hits, issued 2 walks, recorded 17 strikeouts, and surrendered 1 earned run. He has also posted a 0.89 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) and a 0.203 batting average against.
On the 25th of last month, Sung Young-tak earned a save with a perfect 1⅓-inning performance featuring 1 strikeout against the Lotte Giants. The following day, on the 26th, he delivered a scoreless 2-inning outing against Lotte, allowing 1 hit and striking out 5 batters, showcasing his true ability.
Following that, KIA recorded a 4-5 loss to NC on the 27th (Monday), a 9-4 victory over NC on the 28th, and a 2-7 loss to NC on the 30th. Sung Young-tak did not appear on the mound for four days from the 27th through the 30th.
Continuing, KIA lost 3-4 to KT on the 1st. At that time, Sung Young-tak pitched ⅔ innings, allowing 1 hit, issuing 1 walk, and recording 1 strikeout.
And he did not appear on the mound again.
KIA secured a 6-0 shutout victory over KT on the 2nd, then suffered a 4-6 loss to KT on the 3rd. After resting on the 4th (Monday), they defeated Hanwha 12-7 on the 5th. The previous day (the 6th) ended in a 2-7 loss.
As a result, Sung Young-tak did not appear in any games from the 2nd through the previous day, including the Monday the 4th when there were no games, totaling five days without an appearance.
It is not an injury. So, is he being managed?
Lee Beom-ho, the KIA Tigers manager, directly explained the reason. Ahead of the game against Gwangju Hanwha Eagles on the 6th, Manager Lee stated regarding Sung Young-tak, "We are not sending him out because there is no save situation right now."
Manager Lee added, "In the early part of the season, there were so many save situations that he went out on a rotation of pitching two days and resting one day, then pitching two days and resting one day again. The closer role itself requires a save situation to appear. When playing at home, he can enter in the 9th inning with a tied score or in the 8th inning, but in away games, there is always the opposing team's final offensive opportunity remaining, which sometimes prevents him from entering. Considering these factors, the timing hasn't been right, so he is resting a bit."
He continued, "Of course, the timing isn't right right now, so he is resting, but in another way, there are cases where he cannot appear because we are scoring a lot of runs. Of course, it is better to appear more often, as it means we are winning more games. In the end, we are currently managing him in a way that is not exactly management."
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*This content was translated by AI.
