“Where is a game that is not burdensome?”
SSG Landers ace Kim Gwang-hyeon (35) is a veteran pitcher who has experienced numerous big games at home and abroad. He threw the ball as a starting pitcher not only in the Korean Series but also in the 2020 Major League (ML) postseason when he played for the St. Louis Cardinals. After returning the Taegeuk mark at the end of the 5th World Baseball Classic (WBC), he played an active role as an ace of the national baseball team in numerous international competitions, such as contributing to winning the 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2014 Incheon Asian Games, and 2015 Premier 12.
There was no game that did not come as a burden to him. Moreover, in his first appearance every season, the pressure was not particularly small. In particular, the pressure of the opening game was different. Kim Gwang-hyun, who joined SK Wyverns, the predecessor of SSG in 2007, started as a starting pitcher for the first time in 2014, when he was 8 years old. embraced Including this, in three opening starts, he had no win, 2 losses, and an ERA of 8.04 (15 runs in 15.2 innings, 14 earned runs). He said, “I think I was always nervous at the opening game of every season. It is a tense game, but it is definitely an honor to receive the opportunity that day.”
However, the mindset to prepare for the first appearance has never been disturbed. Kim Gwang-hyun always got his first button right in his first game of every season, except for the opening game. In 2017, when he was separated from left elbow ligament surgery, and 2020-2021, when he was active in the ML, he was solid with 5 wins and 2 losses and an ERA of 2.34 (20 runs in 50 innings, 13 earned runs) in the first 10 games (9 starting games) of the season, excluding 2020-2021. did. He said, “Is there any game that is not burdensome? All matches are charged. However, he always prepared to play in the best condition for his first game. It is the same this year,” he said.
SSG coach Kim Won-hyung reviewed Kim Gwang-hyun as a starting pitcher for the opening game of the 2023 season against the KIA Tigers, which will be held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on April 1. It was not confirmed who would be the starting pitcher that day, but the possibility of Kim Gwang-hyun’s starting pitching increased as the much-anticipated foreign pitcher Annie Romero was injured. However, considering the fatigue accumulated from the WBC preparation period, coach Kim tried to determine whether Kim Gwang-hyun would start as a starting pitcher according to his performance in the demonstration game,메이저놀이터 but Kim showed a good condition by steadily raising the number of pitches.
Kim Gwang-hyun said, “Even after going to the WBC, I have always matched the number of pitches. If he goes to the opening game, he will try hard again,” he laughed.
