Kiwoom Heroes’ Chung Chan-heon (33) was the one who closed the door on the free agent market last winter.
It wasn’t until March 27 that he signed a two-year, up to $860 million contract with his original team, Kiwoom. It was a crisis that almost closed the door on a 15-year baseball career.
That’s when his desperation took over.
“When I couldn’t get a contract, I was a little bit chased and frustrated, and I was thinking, ‘Oh, I’m not competitive,’ and I was thinking to myself, ‘Let’s hang in there,’ and I think I was going back and forth psychologically.”토토사이트
Signing under such trying circumstances. I realized how happy I was to be on the mound when my contract was almost terminated.
A game between the Kiwoom Heroes and the LG Twins at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on Nov. 11. Chung Chan-heon is pitching. Jamsil=Jae-geun Jung Reporter cjg@sportschosun.com/2023.5.11/
“After I signed the contract, I thought, ‘Let’s do this without any regrets.’ I thought, ‘Let’s finish my baseball life well during the remaining contract period after 15 years of struggle.’ I don’t know if I’ll be able to sign again after the contract period, but I think this time is really a preparation process for me to finish my baseball life well and to consolidate what I’ve felt and what I’ve done.”
Chung made his ninth appearance of the season on April 21 against the Daegu Samsungs.
It was a remarkable outing. He threw 77 pitches, the fewest pitches he’s ever thrown in a seven-inning game, allowing six hits, walking four and striking out four. Recorded his sixth quality start in nine appearances. He used a dazzling array of pitches, including a two-seam, slider, forkball, and curveball, to keep the Samsung batters off balance.
However, he was unable to get the win.
The game between the Kiwoom Heroes and the LG Twins at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 11th. Chung Chan-heon, who threw a hard-hit ball to outfielder Oh Ji-hwan in the fourth inning, smiles as Oh reaches first base. Jamsil=Jung Jae-geun Reporter cjg@sportschosun.com/2023.5.11/
The Kiwoom bats failed to score a single run.
After six games of quality starts, they have only one win. It must be frustrating.
“It’s not frustrating at all that we didn’t win, but the team won. It’s a more satisfying situation for me that I pitched well in the direction of the team winning and helped us a little bit in the process of moving from the bottom to the middle of the standings. I think I have more work to do to help us in the future because we can go higher than we are now, and I think we need more than one win now.”
He also emphasized team-first, saying, “I’m not a fastball pitcher, I’m more of a matchup pitcher, so the more I go through the batting order, the more the hitters have a chance to adjust, and I think that’s what the coaching staff was thinking.” The surprise transformation of an overlooked free agent pitcher. Thanks to Chung, Kiwoom is now solidifying its strongest starting lineup.