How did Kim Won-hyung view the bench-clearing incident? "Cha Min-seok must have been flustered and excited, but he pitched well," he said with a broad smile.

*This content was translated by AI.

Doosan Bears manager Kim Won-hyung (54) calmly overcame the bench-clearing incident that occurred during a fierce battle the previous day (the 6th) and smiled contentedly at the sight of 'youngster' Cha Min-seok (20), who had grown a level further.

The incident occurred in the bottom of the 6th inning during the game on the 6th. Cha Min-seok, who was guarding the mound, was facing Kiwoom Heroes leadoff batter Im Byung-wook. After the first pitch was a strike, Im Byung-wook requested a timeout and took a brief pause. Then, Cha Min-seok's second pitch, a 145km/h fastball, struck Im Byung-wook squarely on the buttocks.

Immediately after the timeout request, a pitch hit the batter, leading Im Byung-wook, who misunderstood the situation, to walk toward the mound. Players from both teams poured onto the field at once, triggering the first bench-clearing incident of the season. Cha Min-seok immediately took off his cap to apologize, and coaches and players from both teams intervened, bringing the situation to a close without any major incident. Cha Min-seok calmly struck out Choi Ju-hwan and Kim Woong-bin, then got Yeo Dong-wook to fly out, ending the inning. Ultimately, he earned his fifth win of the season with a stellar performance of seven innings, six hits allowed, seven strikeouts, and one earned run.

On the 7th, manager Kim Won-hyung met with reporters at Jamsil Baseball Stadium and reflected on the situation at the time. When asked about the criticism that his pitch speed increased after the sudden incident while maintaining composure, Kim began by saying, "Cha Min-seok is originally a pitcher with a somewhat calm demeanor," and then recalled, "In fact, from a pitcher's perspective, it was a situation where he could easily have been flustered and excited."

Kim then revealed behind-the-scenes details: "If Cha Min-seok had been shaken and allowed the next batter to hit, we were prepared to bring the pitching coach onto the mound to calm him down." However, Cha Min-seok immediately struck out the next batter after the bench-clearing incident and firmly held the mound. Kim added, "Seeing him get a strikeout right away, I thought, 'There's no need for me to go up to the mound.' I was worried he might be shaken on the mound, but he pitched very calmly." He spared no praise for Cha's 'strong-hearted' pitching.

The person directly involved, Cha Min-seok, also shared his honest feelings after the game on the 6th: "It was not an intentional pitch. From the previous inning, pitches to the body kept drifting toward the center, so I tried to aim deeper, but the ball hit him." He added, "In fact, I only wanted to avoid giving even one walk." He also added, "After the bench-clearing incident, I tried my hardest not to be shaken, and I thought that if I just threw my own pitches, good results would follow, so I pitched calmly."

Cha Min-seok's generous pitching, which maintained composure even in a crisis and preserved the team's winning momentum, became a solid harvest for Kim Won-hyung's squad, which is on a winning streak.

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*This content was translated by AI.