Lee Sang-kyu (28), a right-hander who has many stories of the Hanwha Eagles in professional baseball, washed away the frustrations and pain of the past and tasted an emotional victory in 1,553 days.
Lee Sang-kyu took the mound as a relief pitcher in Game 14 of the season against the Doosan Bears of the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 24th, and became a winning pitcher with two innings of no hit, one walk, two strikeouts, and 21 pitches. It was a valuable relief victory that led to the team’s thrilling 7-6 come-from-behind victory.
Lee Sang-gyu was on the mound as the eighth pitcher of his team following Hwang Joon-seo at the bottom of the ninth inning with no outs and runners on the first base when the score was tying 6-6. The replacement hit the bull’s eye. After pinch hitter Kim Jae-ho’s sacrifice bunt, he skipped Yang Eui-ji to hit four pitches automatically, and grounded out Yang Seok-hwan, catcher foul fly, and Kim Tae-geun to the third base to announce the playoff.
Hanwha took a 7-6 lead in the top of the 10th inning with Kim Tae-yeon hitting an RBI timely hit to the right in a chance with one out and second base faced by first baseman Yang Seok-hwan’s catch error. The mound had already exhausted its must-win group, including Park Sang-won, Lee Min-woo, Han Seung-hyuk, Kim Seo-hyun and Joo Hyun-sang, and manager Kim Kyung-moon and pitcher coach Yang Sang-moon decided to leave it to Lee Sang-kyu in the bottom of the 10th inning.
Was his experience as a finisher of LG helpful? Lee struck out leadoff batters Kang Seung-ho and Jeon Min-jae in succession, and Seo Ye-il was caught as catcher’s foul fly to end the long game. When catcher Choi Jae-hoon finished the game by catching a ball in front of the net, he raised his arms and roared, enjoying the joy of victory. It was a valuable victory for the first time in 1,553 days since the game against the KT Wiz in Jamsil on May 24, 2020, when he was an LG player.
After the game, Lee shed tears at an interview with a television broadcaster Su-hoon, suggesting how much he had suffered so far. MBC Sports+ commentator Sanghoon Lee, who coached Lee Sang-kyu during his time at LG, also wiped away tears and shared the joy of his victory with his old student.
When I asked Lee Sang-kyu, who I met after the game, about the meaning of tears, he said, “I got emotional without realizing it because Sanghoon Lee asked me how I feel now.” When I was in charge of finishing the job at LG, there were not many fans, so I didn’t feel the same way today, but I felt once again that Hanwha fans were passionate. I was so excited because they cheered me so happily, just like the lyrics of the cheering song ‘I’m happy’.”
Catcher Choi Jae-hoon and the coaching staff gave the ball good pitching. “Choi Jae-hoon was so good. He gave me a strong autograph, so I tried to throw it accordingly,” Lee said. “I did what the catcher told me to do, so I got a good result,” Lee said. “Coach and coach advised me to throw with confidence. He just told me to throw with confidence because he didn’t want me to get a result.”
Lee Sang-gyu, who had to keep a one-run lead in the top of the 10th inning with all the winning teams exhausted, didn’t he put strength in his shoulders? “I didn’t think about that, but I thought about throwing my own ball because I couldn’t throw my own ball many days. That’s why I got such a good result,” he said.
I asked Lee Sang-kyu who came to mind the most when he confirmed his victory. “It was natural to repay him because the coach and coach appointed him. Thank you so much,” he said with a relieved smile. “I wanted to give trust to the coach and coach again by blowing away Ryu Hyun-jin’s victory once last time, but I finally did it today.”
Lee Sang-gyu left Cheongwon High School and entered the professional league as the 70th ranking in the 7th round of the 2nd round of LG in the 2015 Rookie Draft. It was in 2020 that he made his first-team debut only in 2019. When Ko Woo-seok left the team due to a knee injury early in the season, he often appeared in the first division, leaving him with 2 wins, 3 losses, 4 saves, 1 hold, and an ERA of 6.68 in 28 games. 안전놀이터
That was the last time Lee Sang-kyu played. Gradually, he lost ground in the first division, posting a 9.00 ERA in seven games in 2021 and 2.35 in eight games in 2023, and was left out of the LG protected list in the second KBO draft held in November last year. Instead, he was picked by the Hanwha Eagles as the second overall pick, and made a fresh start in Daejeon.
Lee Sang-kyu was noted as a must-winner during the Melbourne Spring Camp in Australia in February, but when the season opened, he rarely settled down as he frequently traveled between Daejeon and Seosan. At one point, he was at the crossroads of retirement as his status changed to a nurturing player.
“I remember crying a lot during the second draft as well. I was very sad to be excluded from LG’s protectionist list,” Lee said. “I thought I would fail because I became a nurturing player even after coming to Hanwha. I also thought, ‘Am I getting fired now?’ But I feel different because I overcame all that and this happened in front of many fans.”
Nothing will change just because he pitched well on the day. As always, Lee plans to end his first season with the Hanwha Eagles by quietly fulfilling the role that he was assigned. “I don’t think about being assigned to a must-win team. If you tell me to throw on the mound, I will just throw it with courage,” Lee said. “The most important thing is continuity and consistency. I hope it doesn’t happen today.”
