KS ERA 15.00, 2 decisive home runs, what happens?
The only opportunity in my life to become a free agent has come, but dark clouds are looming over that dream.
KT closing pitcher Kim Jae-yoon (33) is a player who has had many twists and turns in his baseball life. When he signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2009, his position was catcher. He moved to the United States with the dream of making his major league debut, but the reality was not easy. Kim Jae-yoon, who eventually gave up his dream of becoming a major leaguer and returned to Korea, began his career as a pitcher by joining KT in 2015, and announced a new start in his baseball career by playing as a closing pitcher in 2016.
Jae-yoon Kim consistently earned double-digit saves from 2016 to 2018, but he was not a 100% trustworthy pitcher with an ERA of 4 to 5 points. However, Kim Jae-yoon, who has fully established himself as a closing pitcher by exceeding 20 saves for the first time in his career in 2020, recorded 4 wins, 3 losses, 32 saves, and an ERA of 2.42 in 2021, contributing significantly to the team's first overall championship since its founding, and last year with 9 wins and 7 losses. After leaving an ERA of 3.26 with 33 saves, he recorded 5 wins, 5 losses, 32 saves, and an ERA of 2.60 this year, recording over 30 saves for three consecutive years and standing tall as a top closing pitcher in the league.
Kim Jae-yoon also earned two saves in the playoffs against NC and helped the team advance to the Korean Series. However, he is showing signs of rapid faltering in the Korean series against LG.
The two teams, with 1 win and 1 loss, played Game 3 of the Korean Series at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 10th. When KT took a 7-5 lead in the bottom of the 8th inning with Byung-ho Park's two-run shot to left, KT did not hesitate to put Kim Jae-yoon on the mound in the top of the 9th inning.
It wasn't good from the start. Leadoff hitter Hong Chang-gi was sent out with an infield hit toward second base. In fact, it was recorded as an infield hit, but it was a hit to the right field and second baseman Park Kyung-soo was lucky enough to not go out into the outfield. He then had Park Hae-min and Kim Hyun-soo side by side, handling a fly ball and a ground ball, which was good enough to get 2 outs, but he took the game against Austin Dean and allowed a walk, sending out a tying runner, and brought trouble upon himself.
The match against Oh Ji-hwan followed. When the first pitch thrown by Kim Jae-yoon went far outside the strike zone, catcher Jang Seong-woo went up to the mound and tried to calm him down, but it was no use. Kim Jae-yoon threw a 143km fastball, but it ended up being a 3-run home run. The fastball thrown to get a strike ended up in the middle of the pitch. In the end, KT was unable to take advantage of the chance with one out and bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th inning and suffered a painful loss of 7-8.
Kim Jae-yoon's ordeal continued in Game 4 of the Korean Series held in Suwon on the 11th. When starting pitcher Eom Sang-baek allowed a walk to leadoff hitter Moon Seong-ju in the top of the 5th inning, KT made a winning move by putting Kim Jae-yoon on the mound. However, Kim Jae-yoon was shaken when he was hit by Hong Chang-gi's timely hit to right in the ensuing crisis with one out and second base, and in the top of the sixth inning, after giving up a walk to Oh Ji-hwan, he threw a 140km fastball to Moon Bo-kyung, which led to a two-run home run to left, giving him a 0-5 lead. On this day, Kim Jae-yoon was extremely unstable in both velocity and pitch, to the extent that his fastball speed dropped to 139 km. KT, who suffered a crushing defeat of 4-15, was now in a situation where they had to be satisfied with second place if they suffered one more loss.
Kim Jae-yoon plans to become a free agent after this season. This may be his first and last chance to hit the jackpot in his life. He was only able to begin his professional career in Korea in his mid-20s as he was struggling to compete on the American stage. He is 33 years old this year. Although his regular season was successful, he is showing critical failure on the big stage of the Korean Series. Of course, the Korean series is not over yet. Will Kim Jae-yoon, whose ERA in the Korean Series is still at 15.00, be able to make a comeback in the remaining games?
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