“I didn’t even get the ball right today (14th).”
This is the words of Kang Min-ho (39), a catcher of the Samsung Lions. Kang, who boasts of the largest number of catchers in history with 327 homers in his career, is still a slugger who still has one shot ahead of the game. Doosan lost 2-6 in the aftermath of a three-run homer by Kang in the seventh inning when the score was 2-2 at the match against Samsung on Saturday. In this weekend’s three consecutive games against Samsung, Kang hit two critical homers in the games on Saturday and Sunday, and gave Doosan the loser series, and there was a pitcher who threw a ball that even Kang could not touch. It is Jordan Balazovic (26), a new Doosan foreign pitcher.
Balazovic signed a total of $250,000 (about 300 million won) with Doosan on the 4th. Doosan decided to release Raul Alcantara, a former ace, when he failed to escape from the swamp of injury and sluggishness even though he invested a total of $1.5 million (about 2 billion won) in him. The club expected Balazovic, a power feature who throws fastballs up to 156 kilometers per hour, to lead the rest of the season’s starting lineup well in place of Alcantara.
Balazovic made his KBO League debut against the Samsung Lions on Sunday. During four ⅔ innings, he allowed 93 pitches, one hit, four strikeouts, and one run. Although he led the team through the fifth inning with 80 pitches, his four pitches increased to four, but he showed off his outstanding pitching capability until the 70th inning. He showed off his fastball capability by shooting up to 156 kilometers and 151 kilometers on average. He mixed 41 fastballs with sliders (27), curves (14), and splitter (11), and his breaking ball power was outstanding. The speed of the splitter was powerful as it was fast as 140 kilometers, and the curve was one of the pitches that bothered Samsung batters.
In the beginning of the game, Balazovic started to adapt himself to the mound by mainly throwing fastballs. In the first inning, Samsung’s Kim Ji-chan and Lee Jae-hyun fouled out Balazovic’s fastballs, but they ended up hitting shortstop flies and center field flies, respectively. Two outs later, Koo was out with a ball count of 2-2, swinging on each of the big curves for the seventh time.
By actively using sliders from the second inning, Balazovic reduced the weight of his fastballs and utilized his breaking balls in more diverse ways. Thus, Samsung hitters struggled without getting a single hit from Balazovic until the fourth inning.
Kang Min-ho admitted, “(Ballajovic) has better ball power than unfamiliarity. Should I say it’s a little bit like a mechanic flying in? I thought it was hard to hit because I felt that way. I didn’t even get the ball right today. He had a very good ball power.”
However, as he was concerned, Balazovic was having a stamina problem. Although he said he gained experience as a starting pitcher in the U.S., he played as a bullpen this year while playing for Triple-A team of the minor league under the Minnesota Twins. Doosan had confidence in Balazovic’s pitching to some extent, but question marks were attached to his ability to play in the inning.
If Doosan had a solid starting lineup in the past, Balazovic could have given him time to gradually raise the number of pitches as he adapted to Korea, but the mound situation did not do that this year. From the beginning of the season, Alcantara and Brandon Waddell failed to return stably due to injuries and sluggishness, and Kwak Bin was holding out by throwing more than five innings steadily. Doosan was already overloaded with bullpen as it always turned 2 to 3 positions into substitute starters due to unstable foreigners’ one-two punch and 4 and 5 starters. In particular, in the second half of the year, there were more limited bullpens that could be used by early replacement of Kim Min-kyu (2 ⅓ innings), Kim Yoo-sung (2 innings), Kwak Bin (3 ⅓ innings) and Shirakawa Keisho (3 ⅔ innings) in the previous four games.
Before the game, Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop said that the appropriate number of pitches for Balazovic’s debut match was “60 to 80 pitches,” adding that he does not think he will be able to reach higher than 80 pitches. As he threw 71 pitches through the fourth inning, it was not a bad choice for him to quit. However, Doosan had no time to spare, and his debut match, Balazovic, must have had considerable determination. Eventually, he pitched in the fifth inning. 업소알바
Balazovic walked leadoff hitter Yoon Jeong-bin in the fifth inning, but when he struck out the next batter Park Byung-ho with a swing and miss, he caught Yoon Jeong-bin, who was stealing the second base, changing it to a situation with two outs and no runners. At that time, the number of pitches was 83. Although he had to change it at this time, Balazovic chose to fill five innings, and as a result, Ryu Ji-hyuk and Jeon Byung-woo walked two people in a row and handed over the mound to left-hander Lee Kyo-hoon only after the number of pitches increased to 93 pitches. Lee Kyo-hoon sent out the next batter Kim Heon-gon as a shortstop fielder’s choice to load the bases, and allowed Lee Jae-hyun to walk the bases, allowing Balazovic to score one run.
Kang Min-ho said, “It was my first appearance, and when I analyzed my power today, I heard that I would throw about 70 to 80 pitches. Still, I think our team had a chance to turn the tables because he went down a little early,” adding, “If Balazovic had the ability to digest innings, he would be more threatening.”
Internally, Doosan is taking a positive view of Balazovic, who made his debut. A club official said, “I think a fastball is my biggest advantage. I feel like other breaking balls are also effective because of the good speed of the fastball. The splitter was fast-paced and it didn’t seem easy for batters to cope with, and the curve was also good. His ball power is good.”
In the future, he is expected to aim to last more than five innings with good pitching. A club official said that if Balazovic takes the mound for two to three more games and adapts to the starting routine, he will not have to worry about stamina from then on. It is expected that the Doosan mound will also be filled with a stamina that allows Balazovic to maintain his pitching in the third inning or more, and if Brandon, who has already been proven, joins the team after August 8 after completing six weeks of rehabilitation.
