“You can’t hit even if you throw a fastball.”
Kim Taek-yeon, 19, a right-handed pitcher of the Doosan Bears, has been called the “next closer” ever since her debut. Since she graduated from Incheon High School and joined the Doosan Bears as the No. 2 overall pick in the first round of the rookie draft in 2024, Kim has been considered the “next closer.” She has good pitching and mental strength, and, more importantly, is capable of striking out, so she was second to none as a closer.
It is no exaggeration to say that Kim has clinched the Rookie of the Year title as the season is nearing its end. A 19-year-old high school graduate has established himself as a must-winner since the opening of the season, and has been serving as a setup man and is now leading the team’s competition as a finishing pitcher. Doosan manager Lee Seung-yeop picked Kim without hesitation as the most reliable card that can block this year’s crisis, and when he had to play bullpen baseball due to a collapse of starting pitcher, he let Kim finish the game. Rookie players receive tremendous trust from the team.
In a match against the Suwon KT Wiz on Wednesday, Kim also proved why he was ranked the 0th in Rookie of the Year. Taking the mound at the bottom of the ninth inning with a 3-2 lead, Kim secured his 15th save of the season by allowing 22 hits, one walk, two strikeouts and no run in one inning, and spearheaded his team’s third consecutive win.
There was a crisis in general. Kim allowed leadoff hitter Oh Jae-il to fly to left field and had consecutive hits by Hwang Jae-gyun and Kim Sang-soo. He had bad luck in the process of giving up a hit to Kim. It was also possible to ground out to the third baseman, but as third baseman Lee Yoo-chan completely missed a hit due to being overshadowed by the lighting, he became a hit to the left. Even most veteran winning pitcher falters and collapses in such a situation.
Kim Tae-yeon seemed to be unable to overcome the crisis as she gave up a walk to the next batter, Bae Jeong-dae, and was on the verge of loading the bases with one out. It would have been regrettable for Bae since he allowed a walk by throwing four balls in a row with two strikes.
With a single hit, the team can tie the game and lose. Kim said, “I gave up everything else and took out my most confident weapon. It was a fastball. Kim successively struck out Shin Bon-ki and Park Min-seok, holding onto her team’s victory. She threw a total of eight fastballs, four to Shin Bon-ki and Park Min-seok, all of them fastballs. Her speed exceeded 150 kilometers. This means that she just put in fastballs with all her power.
Kim Taek-yeon, who managed to make the save in a difficult way, could see why fans are so excited about the 19-year-old pitcher. “I had a big crisis, but I didn’t intend to run away. Originally, I tried to compete by mixing breaking balls, but since there was no place to run with the bases loaded with two outs, I only focused on my fastball. I only thought about strikeouts. It was important to prevent it before it led to the top lineup, but I’m glad you did a good job,” he said. 메이저놀이터
Kim is currently performing top not only in rookies but also in the entire bullpen in the league. While pitching in 53 ⅔ innings in 50 games, he has had three wins, four holds, 15 saves and an ERA of 1.84. He is the only pitcher in the league with an ERA of around 1 point. He has 11.07 strikeouts per nine innings, ranking third among bullpens who pitched in 30 or more innings. Cho Byung-hyun of SSG, ranking first, has 11.48 and Kim Won-joong of Lotte, ranking second, 11.32. When it comes to rookie pitchers, Kim overwhelms all other records.
Kwak Bin, who started the game on the day, said, “When (Kim) Taek-yeon comes up, I don’t think we lose the game if our middle pitchers come up. It’s true. Taek-yeon has an ERA of one point. She was not nervous at all. I trust her. She is a better pitcher than me.”
Kim Taek-yeon’s confidence on the mound comes from her fastball. “As you all know, Taecyeon’s fastball rises very well,” catcher Kim Ki-yeon said. “There are some pitchers who can’t hit even if they throw fastballs. I think Taecyeon is that kind of person. He has guts to stick to it with confidence, and even if he signs a fastball without running away, he always goes head-to-head with confidence, maybe because he has confidence in his fastball. That’s why I get good results.”
Kim Taek-yeon, who has crossed the nine-division ridge for the Rookie of the Year award, is now challenging herself to a new history in the KBO. She has only one save left, which is the most by a high school graduate. The current record is 16 saves recorded by Lotte’s Na Seung-hyun in 2006. Adding two more saves will break Na’s record in 18 years.
“I try not to be aware of it. If you focus on every moment, the result will come naturally,” Kim said. “My goal is to finish the season well without getting hurt as always.”
