Six years ago, Doosan Bears pitcher Kwak Bin faced controversy over abuse while playing for the U-18 youth baseball team during his amateur days. After throwing 92 pitches as a starting pitcher at the World Youth Baseball Championship, Kwak Bin took the mound again after just three days of rest and threw a whopping 144 pitches. Now there is a limit on the number of pitches and rest regulations based on the number of pitches, but at the time, there was no rule on the number of pitches. The Doosan team, which had selected Kwak Bin in the first round for the 144th district, was in an angry mood at the time.
The aftereffects of the abuse were clear. Kwak Bin underwent elbow surgery in the middle of his debut season and had to devote himself to rehabilitation for over two years. Kwak Bin, who returned to the first team stage only in the 2021 season, began to bloom somewhat late.
Doosan, remembering such bitterness, is once again looking at this year’s youth baseball team with a frustrated heart. This is the mound log of youth national baseball team pitcher Kim Taek-yeon (Incheon High School).
Kim Taek-yeon, along with his national teammate Hwang Jun-seo (Jangchung High School), is evaluated as a ‘Top 2’ resource in the upcoming rookie draft. There is a growing possibility that Doosan, which holds the second overall pick, will take Kim Taek-yeon.
Doosan coach Lee Seung-yeop also said, “We are looking at good pitching resources, including Hwang Jun-seo and Kim Taek-yeon, together with the club. In particular, I watched Taekyeon Kim’s pitching, and I was impressed by the stable pitching that was unusual for a high school student. It will inevitably change depending on what choice Hanwha makes. I think whoever joins our team will be a great help. “We will have to look at the players who join our team during the final training in the future and decide how to develop them,” he said, expressing great expectations.
However, Kim Taek-yeon fell into controversy over abuse while playing for the youth national team led by coach Lee Young-bok (Chungam High School). Kim Taek-yeon pitched in relief against Taiwan on September 2 and threw 54 pitches. After taking a day’s rest, he made a relief appearance against Australia on September 4 and threw 15 pitches.
And Kim Taek-yeon, who took a day’s rest on the 5th, made a relief appearance against Puerto Rico on the 6th and threw 21 pitches, but was unable to finish the pitch due to a suspended game due to rain. Kim Taek-yeon, who also went on the mound in the suspended game against Puerto Rico that resumed on the 7th, finished his appearance by throwing 19 pitches.스포츠토토
In the Super Round match against the United States held on the 8th, Kim Taek-yeon took the mound in relief, following starter Hwang Jun-seo, and pitched 16 pitches. Kim Taek-yeon, who pitched 3 consecutive pitches, also appeared in relief in the Super Round match against the Netherlands on the 9th and threw 24 pitches along with 4 consecutive pitches.
Even on the professional stage, a four-game pitch is a rare feat to see these days. Two years ago, it was also a big controversy when Jang Hyun-sik (KIA Tigers) fought four games in three days to challenge for the Hold King title. Now, the granting of rest days following three-game series seems to have become more thorough. However, it has become an incomprehensible picture for an 18-year-old high school senior pitcher to go beyond 3 consecutive pitches and even 4 consecutive pitches. In a situation where it was not enough to take the lead in managing the player’s future, Kim Taek-yeon bravely played 4 consecutive fights.
In an atmosphere where ‘Doo Taek-yeon’ is becoming more visible, controversy arose over the abuse of Kim Taek-yeon in four consecutive matches with the youth national team. Photo = Reporter Geunhan Kim
Among the four teams that advanced to the semifinals of this tournament, Korea was the only one to have played three games in a row. The United States, which was competing against Korea for the bronze medal, went on the mound without a single fight. Taiwan and Japan, who advanced to the finals, also had two consecutive matches.
Of course, as the first game of the preliminary round was postponed due to rain, the mid-term rest day disappeared, causing difficulties in mound operation. In addition, the game against Puerto Rico was postponed due to rain and was held the next day. However, these variables do not 100% justify the 18-year-old high school senior pitcher’s four-game pitching streak. If we focused on the growth and experience of all players rather than focusing solely on the national team’s performance, mound management could have been significantly different.
In fact, what is more shocking than the 4 consecutive fights that have already taken place is that Taekyeon Kim’s 5 consecutive fights may also be possible. Kim Taek-yeon was replaced by Jeon Mir when the total number of pitches reached 24 during a full-count match against the last opponent of the game on the 9th. It is highly likely that replacing a batter during a game is a decision based on the pitch count regulations.
According to the rules of rest competitions based on the number of pitches, in order to hold a three-game series, the total number of pitches for the previous two days must be 40 or less. Kim Taek-yeon threw 16 and 24 pitches on the 8th and 9th, respectively, so he met the cutoff of 40 pitches. Since his appearance in the suspended game on the 7th is considered as his appearance in the existing game on the 6th, there is a possibility that Kim Taek-yeon will appear in the bronze medal game against the United States on the afternoon of the 10th. If Kim Taek-yeon takes the mound on this day, he will throw five consecutive pitches. This is a number that cannot be imagined even on the professional stage. Dandy is a positive word that means ‘dandy’ or ‘very good.’ Is this really a ‘dandy’ mound operation?