“We have to end it at the first cue”
Kwak Bin of the Doosan Bears started in Game 16 of the season against the Lotte Giants of the 2024 Shinhan Bank SOL Bank KBO League at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 26th, and pitched in six innings with 90 pitches, four hits and three strikeouts, and seven strikeouts, earning his 15th win (nine losses) of the season.
With the NC Dinos losing to SSG Landers the previous day (25th), Doosan came down to Busan to determine the ranking with its own hands. Just beating Lotte can confirm the fourth place regardless of the outcome of SSG, but on the contrary, in a chance that NC can get the desired result even if it catches SSG, Kwak Bin, a “native ace” who only took four days off to determine the ranking regardless of the results of other teams, was dispatched.
Coach Lee Seung-yeop said before the game, “If NC had won yesterday (25th), I would have rested and prepared…”I think it would be best for Kwak to become the winning pitcher based on his team’s performance and individual performances. However, since we don’t know what will happen, I think good things will happen if he throws the ball confidently as if he is pitching when he is in good condition. I hope veteran players and young players will work together to make Kwak comfortable,” he said.
It can be a bit burdensome, but he was also a native ace. Except for a hit by Victor Reyes in the first inning, Kwak started the game by putting Lotte’s batters to rest without any significant crisis. He also overcame the first crisis well. Kwak was on the verge of first and second base by giving up consecutive hits to Jeon Joon-woo and Na Seung-yeop from the start of the second inning, but he allowed no runs by silencing all subsequent hitters, including successive strikeouts of Yoon Dong-hee and Noh Jin-hyuk, and sent a runner to the scoring position in the third inning, but cruised by suppressing a critical shot.
Perhaps the biggest crisis was in the fourth inning. After striking out leadoff hitter Jeon Joon-woo, Kwak was shaken up sharply by walking to Na Seung-yeop and hitting a pitch to Yoon Dong-hee. Nevertheless, Kwak did not lose his composure, struck out Noh Jin-hyuk, and managed to overcome the crisis by catching Information Keun with a ground ball to shortstop. After overcoming the second base with two outs in the fifth inning, Kwak turned the lineup consisting of Jeon Joon-woo, Na Seung-yeop and Shin Yoon-hoo into three outs in the sixth inning, and secured a requirement for his 15th win for this season along with quality start (six players with three earned runs or less).
He performed his part and left the mound, but the game was close until the end. As the bullpen gave up a point each from the bottom of the seventh inning to the defense line in the bottom of the ninth inning, the score gap was only two points. Notably, as the finishing pitcher Kim Taek-yeon was chased down to the bottom of the ninth inning, the team could not guarantee a win. However, nothing unexpected happened. As Kim Taek-yeon struck out Kang Seung-gu with the bases loaded with one out and tied Oh Sun-jin with a fly ball to the center field, Doosan confirmed its fourth place on its own and Kwak Bin also tied for first with 15 wins.
Since Lee Young-ha had 17 wins in 2019, Kwak has become the first Korean pitcher with 15 wins. Doosan’s players began to gather behind Kwak, who is conducting an interview with a television network, after the game ended. Soon after the interview, Kwak was congratulated for his 15th win by giving a water bomb to Kwak. Kwak also humbly accepted his teammates’ congratulations without much resistance, enjoying the joy.
Asked if the water tastes different after winning 15 games, he said, “It’s different,” adding, “Actually, if NC wins yesterday (25th), it was not going to take the mound today, but I think it’s God’s plan. I think he was going to give me 15 wins as a gift.”
Kwak did not seem to be greedy for the title of the most wins. Rather, he was more pleased to confirm the fourth place. He said, “Actually, I didn’t feel pressured. It’s because I put down the most wins. Of course, Tae-in should take it. If Tae-in is a 3-point player, I am a 4-point player. It’s okay because Tae-in threw much better. I already sent him a message saying, ‘Congratulations. I think you’ll get it,'” he said. “If Tae-in throws it and gets the most wins, it’s something to celebrate. Rather than winning the most wins, I wanted to confirm the fourth place faster. I think SSG won today (26th), but the atmosphere was unusual.”
Still, Kwak will receive a ‘big gift’ from Yang Eui-ji as he secures his 15th win. “I asked (Yang) Eui-ji to give me a gift if I win 15 games last year, but he accepted me happily. In fact, 15 wins can’t be achieved without the help of a fielder. As the season is nearing an end, he said, ‘I feel pressured’. Fortunately, he won 15 games, so I am very grateful to him.” However, the contents of the gift were kept in the secret.
Coach Lee Seung-yeop put forward Kwak Bin as the starting pitcher for the first round of the wild card game before the game on Wednesday. For Doosan, which has a lot of concerns about starting the game, Kwak Bin is the only reliable team. Kwak is exhausted from playing 167 ⅔ innings, the largest number in his career this year, but this is a natural choice for Doosan. However, in the first round of the wild card game last year, Kwak Bin collapsed by allowing four hits (two homers), three walks, four strikeouts and five runs (five earned) during three ⅔ innings against the NC Dinos, and Doosan’s fall baseball game ended with just one game. 메이저놀이터
“I keep in touch with (Ahn) Woo-jin often, and he said, ‘It’s the most innings this year. It’s too hard,’ but he firmly told me to ‘win it.’ I have to overcome it anyway,” Kwak said. “I think I messed up last year. However, rather than feeling like I have to avenge myself, I will trust my team members and throw my ball without any regrets. We have to finish at the first round. Trust the batters, and I think if you throw with confidence in me, I will definitely win. And I’m only thinking about our progress. Whether it’s KT or SSG, we should definitely win, and we should beat higher LG and Samsung.”
Finally, Kwak said to Yoon, “I know (Yoon) Dong-hee is a batter who is sensitive to hitting balls. I threw it facing outward, but I couldn’t control it. I kept apologizing because I felt so bad. I’m glad it didn’t seem like a serious injury though.” Fortunately, Yoon also avoided major injury as he was hit by the ball in the palm of his hand.
