Samsung Lions manager Park Jin-man fell in love with a right-handed pitcher born in 2001. The main character is Park Joo-hyuk, who returned to the team after discharging from Sangmu last season.

Samsung defeated the Chunichi Dragons 5-3 at a practice game held at Akama Ballpark in Okinawa, Japan on Sunday. Park took the mound in the top of the ninth inning with his team leading 5-3, and recorded perfect pitching with three strikeouts in one inning.메이저사이트

His aggressive pitching stood out. On the day, Park used a total of 13 pitches, 12 of which were strikes. When converted into ratios, the figure amounts to 92.3 percent. It was not just about pitching in and out of the zone. He freely moved in and out of the zone and targeted Chunichi hitters.

Facing the first batter Kawakami, Park grabbed strikes with fastballs on both the first and second pitches. His three-pitch slider became a foul, and his four-pitch slider was precisely inserted into the corner of the zone, resulting in a rookie strikeout. He also had two strikes against Bright Kenta, giving him the upper hand. He threw a fastball foul on the third pitch, and threw a breaking ball on the fourth pitch to monitor the reaction. Park used a breaking ball again, which was the only ball he threw on the day, to lead to a strikeout that swung and missed. To the third batter, he garnered two strikes with two consecutive breaking balls. Following a three-pitch fastball foul, he used a breaking ball again, ending the game with a strikeout that swung and missed.

Park Joo-hyuk, who graduated from Deoksu Middle School and Whimoon High School, wore a Samsung uniform as the 45th pick in the second round of the 2020 Rookie Draft. He recorded an ERA of 6.35 in the Futures League in 2020, and grew further the following year with 3 wins, 4 losses and 1 hold average ERA of 3.72.

He made his debut in the first team in 2022. Park Chu-hyeok won the Futures League and was called up by the first team in August. Since his professional debut against the KT Wiz on Aug. 13, Park recorded one hit and no run in one inning. He pitched in a total of eight games, allowing three runs and one earned run in six ⅔ innings with an ERA of 1.35.

After finishing the season, Park chose to join the military athletic team. He posted an ERA of 5.65 and 6.75 over the past two years at Sangmu. Although his performance did not improve on the surface, he has elevated his ball power. Prior to joining the team, the strikeout rate per nine innings in the Futures League stood at 6.29, but that in Sangmu rose to 8.83.

Park Joo-hyuk also took the mound in a practice game against the Yomiuri Giants on the 16th and allowed one walk and two strikeouts in one inning. In the match against Chunichi, he also showed off his overwhelming pitching and caught the eye of coach Park Jin-man.

"After finishing the game, Park seems to have improved both his strength and control after his visit to Sangmu. He has a fighting spirit," coach Park Jin-man said through the club.