"I believe our closer is strong." The 23-year-old national team guardian, trusted even by the Korea Series MVP, posts a sub-1.00 ERA against KIA and Samsung... KT also smiles quietly

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Kim Hyun-soo (38, KT Wiz), who was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of last year's Korea Series (KS), expressed confidence ahead of the upcoming series. The reason was the presence of national team closer Park Young-hyun (23).

On the 21st, Kim Hyun-soo met with reporters after completing a Korea Series preparation training session at Suwon KT Wiz Park. When asked about areas where he believes KT holds an advantage over Samsung and KIA, he paused to think before expressing his trust by saying, "I suppose our closing is strong."

KT secured first place in this year's regular season with a record of 90 wins, 5 draws, and 49 losses, ensuring ample preparation time until the first game of the Korea Series on November 2. The opponent will be either the KIA Tigers or the Samsung Lions. Neither is an easy match. KT held a lead over KIA with a head-to-head record of 10 wins and 6 losses, but trailed Samsung with 7 wins and 9 losses. Samsung is the only team against which KT has a negative head-to-head record this year.

However, KT has its own source of confidence. It is thanks to Park Young-hyun, the guardian who somehow shuts down opponents. In this year's regular season, Park appeared in 56 games, recording 7 wins, no losses, 30 saves, and an ERA of 2.48. He struck out 65 batters over 61⅔ innings, with 4 blown saves. Following his achievement as the saves champion with 35 saves last year, he has reached 30 saves for the second consecutive year.

Even more noteworthy are his head-to-head records against the candidates who may advance to the Korea Series. Park recorded a 1-0 record with 4 saves and an ERA of 1.17 in 8 games against KIA this year. He allowed only 4 hits and just 1 run over 7⅔ innings. He struck out 9 batters without issuing a single walk. He was also strong against Samsung. In 6 appearances, he posted 5 saves with an ERA of 1.69. Over 5⅓ innings, he allowed 3 hits, struck out 8, and gave up 1 run. In total, he collected 9 saves in 14 games against the two teams.

Notably, even the LG Twins, a team that had been relatively difficult for him, have been eliminated. Park recorded an ERA of 5.63 in 7 games against LG this year. In his career statistics as well, LG has been a particularly tough opponent, with an ERA of 7.67 over 34 games. However, with LG being eliminated by KIA after losing the three-game preliminary playoff series, there will be no chance to face them in the Korea Series.

That said, it is difficult to say that KT's entire bullpen was strong this year. KT's team blown saves totaled 22, the same as KIA, and were 5 more than Samsung (17). The bullpen ERA was also higher at 4.68 compared to Samsung (4.23) and KIA (4.43). There were many concerns throughout the season. For a period, the only left-handed reliever was Jeon Yong-ju (26), and Asian quota player Sugimoto Kouki (26) showed inconsistency with an ERA in the 5th-point range. KT manager Lee Kang-cheol (60) struggled with bullpen management in the late innings of games.

Despite this, KT never suffered a four-game losing streak this year and maintained its position in the race for first place without falling out of third. This was thanks to Park Young-hyun protecting the end of a shaky bullpen.

Park handled an impressive 19 multi-inning appearances this year. He did not simply take responsibility for the ninth inning; he also pitched from the eighth inning to shut down crises. KT manager Lee Kang-cheol (60) made efforts to minimize the burden on Park Young-hyun, who was performing such a role. His 13 consecutive-day pitching stints ranked 28th in the league, and he had only one instance of pitching three days in a row. By minimizing consecutive appearances and assigning him long stretches when necessary, they enabled him to maintain his command until the end of the season.

The weight placed on the closer was significant. Both KIA and Samsung carried different concerns regarding their back ends this season. KIA struggled deeply with its closing role due to the slump of Jung Hae-young (25), who had once been evaluated as a top-tier closer in the league. Jung Hae-young managed only 2 saves with an ERA of 6.12 in 55 games this year. They also assigned the closing role to Sung Young-tak (22), and in the second half, Lee Yi-ri (24), who moved from the starting rotation to the bullpen, took responsibility for the final innings.

However, Lee Yi-ri also wavered with consecutive runs allowed at the end of September, and ultimately Jeon Sang-hyun (30) emerged as a new solution. Jeon recorded 4 wins, 2 losses, 4 saves, 15 holds, and an ERA of 2.33 in 46 regular season games. He recovered his command entering the second half, and in Games 1 and 2 of the preliminary playoff against LG, he pitched 1⅓ scoreless innings each day to preserve victories.

A point of concern for KIA is that the burden of crucial moments concentrates on Jeon Sang-hyun. Given that KIA must play through the playoffs against Samsung to reach the Korea Series, bullpen management has become even more critical. Lee Beom-ho (45), KIA manager, expressed worry about Jeon Sang-hyun's pitch count and fatigue while acknowledging, "In the current situation, we cannot leave Jeon Sang-hyun out."

Samsung's situation is slightly different. They are actually closer to a team with a definitive closer, like KT. Kim Jae-yoon (36) was named the saves champion this year with 7 wins, 5 losses, 35 saves, and an ERA of 3.22 in 64 games. He was also strong against his former team KT, posting 5 saves with an ERA of 1.42 in 7 games.

However, Kim Jae-yoon has a clear challenge: Daegu Samsung Lions Park, his home ground. This year, he recorded 21 saves with an ERA of 5.65 in 39 home games. In contrast, on the road, he posted 14 saves with an ERA of 0.00 in 25 games, allowing no earned runs at all. The extreme disparity between his home and away records, which continued from mid-season, was not resolved until the end of the regular season.

Additionally, Samsung faced difficulties due to accumulated fatigue in its bullpen and delayed returns of injured players toward the end of the season. After September, Samsung's bullpen ERA was 5.45, ranking ninth, just behind last-place Kiwoom Heroes.

Thus, KIA has Jeon Sang-hyun, who became even stronger as autumn arrived, and Samsung has saves champion Kim Jae-yoon. However, KT had closer Park Young-hyun, who proved his strength in Daejeon this year against either team that advances.

Kim Hyun-soo also felt secure simply because of the fact that Park Young-hyun is on the team. When asked if Park Young-hyun was certain to be reliable as a closer, Kim smiled and said, "(Park) Young-hyun will handle it himself."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original