“It seems that Korea is giving me many gifts.”
Ricardo Sanchez, a player like a gift from Hanwha, started the game against the LG Twins in the “2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League” held at Eagles Park of Hanwha Life Insurance in Daejeon on the 10th and threw 112 pitches, recording 8 scoreless innings. It was a reverse fight that led to Hanwha’s 7-0 victory. This is the first time he has pitched more than 8 innings in his minor league career. In addition, he recorded the most pitches in one game after his debut.메이저놀이터
Even so, his 112th ball was 151 km/h. Although his strength remained, he did not dare to go to the mound in the ninth inning. Sanchez, who met after the game, said, “It was the first game in which I threw more than 110 pitches after my debut. If I overfaced ahead of my emotions, I could have problems next time and not be able to help the team. To avoid such a situation, I tried to finish in the 8th inning.” said calmly.
Although he had never pitched eight innings, he thought he should keep pitching this time. Sanchez said, “At the point of the 7th to the 8th inning, I felt good, so I thought I should keep throwing. In fact, I didn’t know how many pitches I threw until the 7th inning (86 pitches in 7 innings). However, I thought I should keep the mound as long as possible, I was able to keep throwing because there is no limit on the number of pitches now. The point when I paid attention to the number of pitches was when the fouls continued to come out while dealing with Kim Min-seong in the 8th inning.
In the top of the 3rd inning, the game was stopped for 43 minutes due to sudden heavy rain at first base, but it did not shake. He also demonstrated his skill in preventing crises at an early stage with pitching focused on breaking pitches in the third inning. Sanchez said, “After the rain, the weather got chilly. My body didn’t heat up properly. So I tried to lead the innings by throwing curveballs, which were the most popular pitches. After warming up, I threw again as planned. “he explained.
He added, “Even in the US, rain breaks often happen. I’m used to this situation. I’ve waited for 40 minutes, 50 minutes, or more than an hour. So I warmed up in the bullpen in advance and waited for the restart.”
In the six games Sanchez started, Hanwha won all of them. Sanchez was also aware of this record. He said, “I think that’s why Hanwha wanted me. I want the team to have a comfortable mind when I throw the ball. I want all my colleagues to have a positive mind when I go out.”
Sanchez said, “Today feels like the best game of my career. I’ve never pitched 8 scoreless innings. I’ve never pitched a complete pitch yet. It seems that Korea is giving me a lot of gifts. It’s the first time I’ve thrown more than 100 pitches (second on record, July 7, 2017, 5 innings, 105 pitches) It was the first time I pitched more than 8 innings and didn’t lose a run, so I think I’ve gotten used to it.”
The family who came to Korea together are also said to be satisfied with the new environment. Sanchez said, “My family and I like living in Korea. My wife is very satisfied with her life in Korea. Also, she is happy that I am helping the team and contributing to the results.”
