“I must have gotten 150 kilometers in anger. Haha.”
The Samsung Lions’ blue-blooded ace, Won Tae-in, was able to throw a 150-kilometer fastball because of the power of anger.
Won started the final game of a three-game midweek series against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Stadium on Feb. 2 and pitched six innings of one-run (unearned) ball to lead the team to a 4-2 victory.
Won extended his personal winning streak to five games with his performance. He became the only pitcher to win five games in a row after Kia Tigers’ Nail failed to get the win against KT Wiz in Gwangju. He leads the league in wins. He also lowered his ERA to 1.79. He’s evolving into a flawless pitcher.
Won Tae-in pitched a perfect game on the day, but Ok et al. He gave up a leadoff single to Jung Soo-bin, and then spotted Heo Kyung-min running from first to third on a grounder to first base. Won Tae-in threw hard to catch Jung Soo-bin at third base, but it was a throwing error, sending the ball flying into the Samsung bullpen at third base and scoring Thiel. The error resulted in an unearned run, but it was disappointing for Won, who had pitched two consecutive scoreless games.
After the game, Won said, “I didn’t expect Jung Soo-bin to run to third base. I was in a hurry. I made a mistake 사설토토 and was disappointed with myself. If I threw accurately, it would have been an out. That made me even more angry. I learned another lesson from this situation today.”
“I wanted to keep the no-hitter going, and when my mistake broke it, I got really hot after the inning. I got angry and suddenly the ball was fast. I don’t think I’ve been throwing 150 kilometers lately, no matter how hard I throw, but after that play, I got 150 kilometers. It was like I woke up a dormant instinct. On the contrary, I got angry and my pitches got better,” he laughed. In fact, Won touched 150 mph on the day.
In the fifth inning, with the bases loaded and two outs, Won struck out Jung Soo-bin on a grounder to first base and roared as if he had won the Korean Series. “It was not an expression of joy, but a reprimand to myself. I could have won the game easily, but I created a crisis for myself by making it difficult. I regretted it and wanted to stop it,” Won explained.
“It’s still early in the season, so I don’t care about the title. I’m just surprised that I’m in the position I’m in. I started pitching late in spring training and expected to struggle at the beginning of the season, but I think the results are better because I’m not greedy. As for wins, I just want to beat last year’s win total. I’m just thankful for my guys,” Won said. Wontaein won seven games last season. They only need three more wins to fulfill their first goal.