In the end, Eric Jokish’s dream of returning to the KBO collapsed due to the defeat of Shirakawa Kisho. However, his passion was enough to be applauded.
The Doosan Bears’ choice to look for a short-term replacement for Brandon Waddell, who was injured, was Shirakawa, not Yokishi.
“We have decided to wait until tomorrow (9th) and choose Shirakawa when our turn comes,” Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop told reporters in a preparatory training session for the second half at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 8th.
Doosan faced a bad news that foreign pitcher Brandon partially damaged his left shoulder shoulder muscles in the match against the Samsung Lions in Daegu on the 23rd of last month. As two hospital checkups were conducted three weeks later, Doosan turned its attention to the short-term foreign pitcher recruitment system introduced by the KBO (Korea Baseball Organization) this year.
Starting this season, the KBO has revised the system to allow foreign players to be hired if foreign players leave due to long-term injuries. If a foreign player under his/her jurisdiction suffers an injury that requires treatment for more than six weeks, he/she can register a new foreign player or list the player on the rehabilitation squad after the contract is terminated, and sign a contract with an alternative foreign player to play without using the number of replacements until the player returns. SSG Landers, KIA Tigers, and Hanwha Eagles have already used the system.
Doosan received an unexpected call while listing Brandon’s replacement foreigners. In the past, Yokishi, who reigned as the ace representing the KBO league in the Kiwoom Heroes, expressed his willingness to return. Doosan, which had one more option, offered Yokishi a tryout as a condition of supporting the cost of staying, such as air tickets and accommodation.
Yokishi wore Kiwoom’s uniform in 2019 and pitched well with 56 wins, 36 losses and a 2.85 ERA in 130 games for five seasons until 2023. From the first year to 2022, he won 10 games (13 wins-12 wins-16 wins-10 wins) for four consecutive years, and from 2020, he dominated the league with a two-point ERA (2.14-2.93-2.57) for three consecutive years. Yokishi was unfortunately released by Kiwoom in June last year due to a ruptured thigh muscle. 여우알바
He conducted a total of two trials at Bears Park in Icheon, Doosan’s second-tier base camp. In the first trial, he marked 45 pitches and a maximum speed of 143 kilometers in fastballs despite jet lag and long flight, and in the second test, he threw 45 pitches and threw 143 kilometers in fastballs. “I received reports that it wasn’t bad. It seems like he is in about 90 percent of conditions right now,” Lee said.
However, his passion did not lead to his passing. Just in time, his contract with Shirakawa, a former ace in the Japanese independent league who was hired by SSG as a short-term foreign pitcher, expired as of Tuesday, and Doosan decided that Shirakawa, who has no experience in actual games for one year and who needs to get a visa, is better than Yoshiki, who has experienced the recent Korean baseball trend and has no visa issues.
Shirakawa posted two wins and two losses and an earned run average of 5.09 in five games over the past six weeks, except for the game against the Sajik Lotte Giants (eight runs and seven earned runs in one ⅓ inning) on June 7, which had suffered trial and error. Shirakawa displayed sophisticated ball control by displaying 150 kilometers per hour fastballs, sliders, fork balls, and curves.
In fact, recruiting Yokishi seemed to be a natural choice in terms of experience, but there was a possibility that he would not be able to fully utilize the six weeks due to visa issuance. It was also true that although he continued to exercise individually without his team, he was concerned about his sense of practice.
“I think anyone who comes to our team can pitch four to six times. Yokishi has visa issues and has not had a team in a year,” Lee said. “Of course, I have experience in the Korean stage, but considering my sense of play in the field, I decided that Shirakawa, who played in Korea until recently, is better. We will wait until the 9th and then choose Shirakawa when our turn comes.”
After a short stay in Icheon, he left for his home country of the U.S. on the 8th. Manager Lee said, “Actually, thank you very much. You contacted me first and it came in a day. I threw a bullpen session in less than 24 hours after I arrived in Korea. I felt the longing for Korean baseball and the desire to do it again here. I really appreciate it.”
“Of course, that shouldn’t happen, but it can be a good relationship if there is a chance next year and this year. I can’t easily break up the relationship I’ve had once, so it’s a short time, but I’ve got a very good heart,” he said.
Meanwhile, Shirakawa was announced on waivers to KBO on the 3rd. Shirakawa’s choice will be given for a week in the reverse order of the ranking at the time of the waivers’ disclosure, and Doosan’s ranking was fourth on the three-day basis. In principle, we have to wait for the choice of No. 10 Kiwoom, No. 9 Hanwha, No. 8 KT, No. 7 Lotte, No. 7 NC, and No. 5 SSG, but Doosan is actually the only team that needs short-term foreign players among the five clubs except SSG. There is a variable that foreigners of the five clubs can suffer injuries that take more than six weeks to recover on the 9th, but this is also rare.
