“My wife has been a great support on the sidelines. I will continue to pitch aggressively and give the fans a good show.”온라인바카라
Kim Gun-gook, who took the mound for the first time in 1479 days, expressed his feelings.
Drafted by the Doosan Bears in the second round (sixth overall) of the 2006 Korean Baseball Entry Draft, Kim is a pitcher with a story. He was released in 2008 after suffering an elbow injury and served in the military as a compulsory police officer. In 2013, he joined the Goyang Wonders, an independent baseball team, to try and make a comeback, and finally joined the NC Dinos to continue his professional career.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing after that. After KT Wiz, he moved to the Lotte Giants during the 2017 season, only to be released again just before the end of the 2021 season.
After a year of counselling, another opportunity presented itself. After returning to the field, Kim worked his way through the starting rotation in the Futures (second division) league, waiting for the right time. On the 1st, he finally took the mound for the first time in 1479 days against the visiting LG Twins (5-3 KIA win) at Jamsil Baseball Stadium.
His first start in a long time wasn’t perfect. He got through the first and second innings without allowing a run, but in the third, he gave up a single to left to Shin Min-jae and a groundout to Moon Sung-joo. He was shaky with his pitches and was unable to get out of the inning.
His final line was 2.2 innings, two hits, two walks, one strikeout and two runs. His total pitch count was 46 pitches. Obviously, he wasn’t happy with the result, but it’s important to note that this is coming from a pitcher who spent the past year completely out of the game.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been on the mound for the first team, so I was nervous and excited,” Kim said after the game, adding, “I prepared with as many positive thoughts as I could, and I thought about the moments when I pitched well.”
On the day, Kim utilised his fastball (28 pitches) the most, which was measured at 147kmph. His fastball was also competitive enough.
He said, “I focused on pitching aggressively in today’s game. Before the game, our catcher Han Joon-soo told me that my fastball was good, and I pitched mainly with my fastball in the game. In the Futures League, I trained with coach Son Seung-rak to improve my fastball,” he said with a wry smile, adding, “It was a shame that I couldn’t get a long inning.”
The reason he was able to return to baseball despite the difficulties was the support of his wife.
“I wanted to play baseball so badly after taking a year off, and it was hard, but my wife gave me a lot of strength, and I was able to stand on the mound again because she cheered me on from the sidelines,” Kim said.
KIA has been struggling lately with the departure of its starting pitchers. Left-hander Lee Yi-ri was dropped from the first-team roster due to fatigue and blisters, and Adonis Medina, who failed to overcome a slump, is effectively on his way out. If Kim makes his presence felt, he could get his chance. “I will continue to pitch aggressively and give the fans a good show,” Kim said.