It’s the least he could do for Kelly.
LG Twins manager Yoon Kyung-yeop made headlines before the fourth game of the Korean Series on April 11 when he revealed that he would like to continue working with foreign pitcher Kelly next year.
Before Game 4, Yoon told reporters that he had planned to use Kim Yun-sik in Game 3 as he had previously announced, but that he would start Kelly in the event of a 1-2 loss. Kelly started Game 1 of the Korean Series and threw 92 pitches. It’s not easy to start Game 4 on three days’ rest. But Kelly was OK with it for the team.
“We talked to him and decided that if we lost Game 3, he would start Game 4. We decided to do it with the idea of throwing four or five short innings, not six or seven,” he said. “He said he would go out for team reasons, and I like his heart for the team.” Kelly also pitched in last year’s playoffs against Kiwoom, winning Game 1 with six innings of two-run ball and then taking the loss in Game 4 after three days of rest, despite pitching five innings of two-run ball. It was Kelly’s first time pitching after three days of rest, but he was willing to pitch in the fourth game to help the team advance to the Korean Series, but he was unable to get support from the bats and lost the game 1-4, which ended LG’s chances of advancing to the Korean Series.
However, Yeom said that he would like to work with Kelly again next year. “I’m going to go (with Kelly) next year without thinking about it,” Yeom said, “Of course, what the front office thinks is important. But what I think is important is the heart for the team, and if the foreign players have that heart, it helps when a new foreign player comes.” “I hope we can get a really good first starter, and I think Kelly can do his job as a second starter,” Yeom said, adding that he was hopeful that “we’ll have a much better strikeout rate next year because we’ve developed a new pitch called forkball, and we’ll be able to throw fewer pitches.”
Yeom had already expressed his desire to work with Kelly when he spoke about her Game 1 start before Game 2 of the Korean Series on Aug. 8. At the time, Yeom said, “We talked about forkball during the season, but she was afraid of it. But when I was preparing for the postseason, I practiced forkballs with my pitching coach and threw them in a practice game, telling him not to tell me it was a surprise. I got a strikeout with the forkball in the scrimmage, which gave me confidence, and I used it as the deciding pitch in the game.” “The forkball improved Kelly’s strikeout rate. I’m looking forward to her next appearance in the Korean Series with the forkball, and I’m looking forward to next season.” By saying that he was looking forward to next season, he was expressing his desire to play with Kelly again next year. Three days later, he told the press that he definitely wanted to be together this time, making it clear to all baseball fans.
However, there is no particular reason why Yeom would publicly announce the re-signing of Kelly, except for the sake of Kelly, who is about to start Game 5 of the Korean Series. Until last year, Kelly had been LG’s ace every year, so it was natural for him to re-sign with LG. But this year was different. A poor start to the season led to talk of replacing him, and there were attempts to do so. Luckily, Kelly turned it around in the second half, going 10-7 with a 3.83 ERA for his fifth straight year of double-digit wins, and pitching 178⅔ innings to help LG win the regular season title. But it wasn’t enough to inspire the same faith and expectations. If a better pitcher is available on the market, the team could consider re-signing him.
There’s no way Kelly doesn’t know this. He loves playing in Korea and he loves LG, but he’ll be 35 next year. He doesn’t know when he’ll part ways with LG, and it could be this year. He needs to pitch impressively to get re-signed, and that was the Korean Series. 아톰카지노 도메인
He practiced forkballs to improve his running form and showed the effort he put into throwing in the Korean Series. In Game 1, he pitched a quality start, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts in 6⅓ innings. If he can do it again in Game 5 and help them win the Korean Series, he’ll have a green light to re-sign.
When your contract is on the line, you’re more likely to take the mound under pressure. It’s unlikely that Yeom didn’t realize this and wanted to reassure Kelly by letting him know his thoughts in advance. He’s made it clear that he wants to stay with the team, so it’s likely that Kelly will be in an LG uniform next year unless something else happens.
In Yoon’s words, Game 5 of the Korean Series will not be a contract renewal game, but a game where the ace will take the mound to decide the Korean Series championship.
