“Who is he?”.
Lotte Giants transfer Shim Jae-min (28) made his dream start 10 years after joining the organization. On March 13, he started in Gwangju against the KIA Tigers and pitched through the fifth inning with just three hits, two walks and one strikeout, leading the Giants to a 3-1 rainout victory. It was his first start since joining the organization in 2014.토토사이트
He was not intimidated by a KIA lineup that has been hitting in the triple digits lately. In the bottom of the first inning, Lee Woo-sung singled and stole second base on an error by the third baseman, but he remained calm and did not allow a run to score. The only run he allowed was a single to Lee in the bottom of the fifth inning with the score 3-0.
He neutralized the bats of the cleanup trio of Na Sung-beom and Choi Hyung-woo, KIA’s strongest duo with an OPS of 1.000, while Kim Sun-bin, the No. 5 man, gave up just one hit. His curveball (19 pitches), which topped out at 143 km/h, stole the show. His changeup (21 pitches) was sharp and he only threw five sliders.
He was born in Busan. He graduated from Gaeseong Middle and Gaeseong High School. He was a promising ace in the future. He wanted to wear a Lotte uniform and throw when he heard the Busan Seagulls singing, but the upstart KT made a special appointment. At KT, he was active as a bullpen pitcher. I had dreams of starting, but I had to fold.
Starting was an old dream. I was the main bullpen pitcher from 2015 until I finished my military service. When he returned, he was more of a reliever than a starter. He struggled mightily in April and was sent down to the second team. Suddenly, he returned home in May in a trade for infielder Lee Ho-yeon.
Lotte needed a left-handed bullpen arm, so they brought in Shim, but not right away. He had to get his feet wet in the second team. He was transferred to KT, where he flawlessly replaced Lee Ho-yeon and garnered media attention. On June 22, he was promoted to the first team and served as a bullpen pitcher. He pitched up to three innings and showed stability with a two-run ERA, expanding his position.
“When I was in the second team after the trade, I saw a lot of Ho Yeon-i’s plays and articles. Honestly, there was a lot of impatience. I felt that I had to go up quickly and show something, so I trained a lot in the second team, mainly running and weight training. I did a lot of weight management,” she said.
His transformation into a starter began on August 12, when he pitched 3⅓ innings and allowed two runs (one earned) against the KIA. When the team needed a starter in September, he showed promise and was selected as the starter. On August 7, he gave up one run in five innings against Samsung Electronics, and on this day, he threw even better pitches to win his first start at home.
He was motivated. He wanted to make a good impression in his hometown of Busan. “When I go around with (Park) Se-woong and (I) Gyun-an, the fans recognize them. But when they see me, they feel like, ‘Who is this guy?’ I thought, ‘I have to work harder every time. If I’m good, they’ll recognize me,” she laughs.
Shim’s arrival will help fill the starting gap left by Park Se-woong and Na Kyun-an’s absence from the Asian Games. “It helps a lot to be in my hometown. I’ve gotten more opportunities here than I did at KT. If I’m given a task, I’ll do my best to fulfill it. I’m still struggling in the fifth inning. Now I want to make a quality start,” he hoped.
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