“It was a cautionary move. One such action can affect the mood of the entire team.”
Samsung Lions manager Park Jin-man (48) delivered a warning message to Connor Seabold (28), who threw the ball as a sign of dissatisfaction with the situation of being replaced.
Connor started Game 14 of the season against the Doosan Bears at Pohang Baseball Stadium on the 21st and became a losing pitcher after allowing four runs with three hits (one homer) with five walks and five strikeouts in five innings.
It was a corner where he pitched more than six innings in four consecutive games, but he showed some discomfort throughout the game, and he couldn’t hold back his anger when he shook sharply in the fifth inning and allowed three runs and collapsed.
He pitched impeccably until the third inning, but was chased 2-1 by Jarrod Young after he hit a solo home run in the fourth inning. He was okay up to this point.
The problem was in the fifth inning. He allowed a walk to his first batter, Kim Jae-hwan, and started scratching the mound with spikes. Connor, who had been somewhat sensitive to the mound condition since the beginning of the season, acted like this once in the third inning, but seemed to find the cause of his poor control on the mound.
He then increased the out count by one, but when Kim Jae-ho was also allowed to walk after the full count match, he looked at the mound and uttered a single swear word.
To soothe the excited corner, pitching coach Jung Dae-hyun visited the mound. I checked the condition of the mound and calmed the corner before going down.
However, the situation was already out of control. When Cho grounded out to the first base, he caught a runner at the second base, making it the first and third bases with two outs. Regardless of the number of runners, he could have finished the inning with only one out count, but he allowed Jung Soo-bin to walk again to load the bases, and Lee Yoo-chan gave a timely two-run hit to make the game come from behind to lose two to three. The hit was a miss, and the fielders unfortunately failed to catch a hit, making it all the more regrettable since the two runs were lost. Jared also had a hit to the right, adding one run.
For Yang Eui-ji, he induced a fly high in the infield, but unlike fielders who usually catch a fly ball, Connor appealed that he would catch it. It seemed as if the previous loss situation had lost his faith in defense. Eventually, he caught the ball himself and finished the inning with his own hands.
The biggest problem was the next scene. Connor couldn’t hold back his anger even after the inning ended and threw the ball to the ground on the way back to the dugout. Not only his teammates but also Park was watching this scene.
Consequently, the mood was subdued. The bullpen gave up one more run in the sixth inning, and the batters managed just two hits and no runs during four innings. Even then, one hit was lucky enough to be deflected off the pitcher. The mood completely cooled down and the batter took the loss.
Coach Park Jin-man, who met with reporters before the 15th game of the season against the Doosan Bears was canceled due to the heat wave at Pohang Stadium on the 22nd, said, “I cautioned (Connor). I pointed out what to point out after the game because such an action can affect the overall atmosphere of the team,” adding, “I don’t think I’ll see that in the next game.” 먹튀검증
“I also expressed that (emotion) because it didn’t work out as I wanted, but I think I should find a way to hide it by myself rather than doing it in the presence of the entire team. I hope that doesn’t change the whole flow,” he said, expressing his discomfort.
There was a clear reason. “After that (action) yesterday, the bench went down yesterday. The players, staff and I were all cheering and encouraging, but I also cautioned them because the team’s mood was down.”
Connor had complained about the mound at Samsung Lions Park in Daegu from the beginning of the season. It is well known that the mound is a bit softer in Korea than in the U.S. stadiums. Connor visited Pohang Stadium for the first time on the day, and since it is not a stadium where professional baseball is usually held, management of facilities was less than that of other stadiums. The mound was no exception.
However, they cannot express their dissatisfaction with the mound until long. Not all foreign pitchers who passed the U.S. tour to Korea were like corners. Manager Park Jin-man also said, “There were many such situations in Daegu at the beginning of the season. He seems to be the most sensitive compared to other starting pitchers,” but added, “He has no choice but to overcome it.”
Moreover, Won Tae-in, who pitched six scoreless innings on the 20th, said, “I’m not sure about the (ground) condition, not the fielder, but I think the mound was constructed well.” Doosan’s Kim Taek-yeon, who set the record for the most save ties for high school graduates on the 21st, also said, “I checked the mound on the first day and felt it was higher than I thought, but when I went up, I felt it was higher than I thought. I didn’t have a big problem getting used to it because I threw it a lot in high school, but I threw it with the thought that I could press it more because it got higher.”
Ahead of this season, Connor wore a Samsung uniform for a total of 1 million U.S. dollars (1.343 billion won), the highest amount for a foreign player in his first year in the KBO. Not only Kim Taek-yeon, who receives the lowest annual salary (30 million won) as a rookie player, but also a player who receives more than three times the amount of Won Tae-in (430 million won) as an excuse for his poor performance at the end of the season seems somewhat embarrassed. Moreover, it is inappropriate as a basis for acts that harm the team’s mood.
He spoke in a calm tone, but I could read the nuances of his stern warning in Park Jin-man’s message. As a corner, it will serve as an opportunity to reflect on his attitude once again.
