(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Han Nam-jik = Lee Eui-ri (19, KIA Tigers) said, “My idol is Yang Hyeon-jong (34) senior” since the days of Gwangju Jeil High School.
The KIA club nominated ‘Left-handed Young-geon’ Lee Eui-ri for the first time in 2021, and KIA fans called him ‘the second Yang Hyun-jong’ and cherished him.
Lee Eui-ri responded to the expectations of fans and clubs by winning the Rookie of the Year award.
Lee Eui-ri received the Rookie of the Year award at the 2021 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO Awards held at the Imperial Palace Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 29th.
In the meantime, the prospective pitcher who joined KIA dreamed of becoming the ‘second Seok-min Yoon’ if he was right-handed, and the ‘second Hyun-jong Yang’ of the left-handed pitcher.
However, since the first season, Young-gun is the only one who has lived up to expectations.
In terms of performance in the first year of the pro, Eui-ri Lee is ahead of Hyun-jong Yang.
Eui-ri Lee is the ‘first pitcher rookie king’ produced by the Tigers, the original member of professional baseball in 1982.
There are only two players, including Lee Soon-cheol (1986) and Lee Ui-ri (2021), who have won the Rookie of the Year award with KIA, including during the Haitai era.
Yang Hyun-jong, a ‘great pitcher’ born by KIA, obtained a free agent (FA) qualification after the end of the 2020 season and joined the Texas Rangers, a professional baseball team in the United States, following his long-standing dream.
Eui-ri Lee took a spot in the KIA selection in her first professional year, posting 4 wins and 5 losses in 19 games and an ERA of 3.61. He also had the honor of participating in the Tokyo Olympics with the Taegeuk mark.
Yang Hyun-jong, who won 147 personal wins in the KBO League, also struggled in his first professional year.
Yang Hyun-jong, who joined the KIA as the first draft pick in 2007, posted a 4.17 ERA that year with one win and two losses.
It was in 2009 (12 wins, 5 losses and a 3.15 ERA) that Yang Hyun-jong established himself as a key pitcher in the KIA.
At the beginning of this season, Lee Eui-ri said, “The evaluation of ‘the second Yang Hyun-jong’ is burdensome, but I want to live up to expectations.”
The first year performance exceeded expectations.
Now, KIA fans imagine the thrilling scene of Yang Hyun-jong, a free agent (FA) returning, and making a ‘left-handed one-two punch’ with Lee Eui-ri.
jiks79@yna.co.kr
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2021/11/29 14:37 Send