“See, I told you I’d get my money’s worth, right?” Director Chung-Am Lee still misses Yoon Young-Cheol
“Young-cheol Yoon is the best left-handed pitcher in Chung-Am history at the high school level. We’ve had a lot of players, but I’ve never seen a better left-handed pitcher than Young-cheol, and it’s not easy to find one in the future.”
These are the words of the original Chungam coach Lee Young-bok, who has been at Chungam High for over 20 years. In fact, Chungam went on a winning streak shortly after Yoon’s arrival. The team won two national championships and two runner-up finishes. Most notably, the team won the Blue Dragon and Presidential titles back-to-back in 2022, a first in the program’s history.
When Yoon Young-chul was selected by KIA with the No. 2 overall pick in 2022, Lee Young-bok gave KIA officials a hard time during the contract negotiations. “If Kim Seo-hyun got 500 million won, I want you to give me 400 million. Young-chul will definitely be worth the money. I guarantee it,” he threatened.
Of course, the director’s efforts didn’t pay off. Yoon Young-cheol, who was not greedy for money, signed for 320 million won.
Four months later. Lee’s words have become a reality. Yoon has now thrown a whopping 68.1 innings as a rookie, walking just 24 batters and striking out 39. His ERA is 4.08. However, Yoon’s true value lies in being a rookie and a full-time starter. It’s really hard for a rookie to break into the starting rotation right out of the gate.
First of all, it’s physically demanding. It’s not like high school where you don’t throw once a week. Throwing the ball every day, every five days is hard, and the level of hitters is high. There’s a lot of analyzing that goes into it. All pitches and habits are analyzed, so it’s harder. Nevertheless, Yoon has not wavered in his starting position. “He’s been doing so well,” said Kia head coach Kim Jong-kook. He’s definitely a calculated starter now,” he said. It is likely that he will keep his starting spot until the end of the season.
Of course, as of right now, the number 0 rookie of the year is Moon Dong-joo. Many fans already have “Moon Dong-ja” written all over them. Moon has a 3.47 ERA in 83.1 innings pitched this season. There’s also the symbolic significance of being the KBO’s first 160-kilometer pitcher. He’s one of the young icons of the KBO, so he has an absolute advantage.
However, Yoon’s chances aren’t completely out of the question. There’s Park Myung-geun and Choi Ji-min, but they have the advantage of being full-time starters rather than relievers. He also has the added bonus of being a pure rookie. Also, if Yoon Young-chul’s performance helps KIA advance beyond the fall baseball season and into the top four or better, he could get some extra points.
At this point, Yoon Young-chul is the best bet to replace Moon Dong-joo, the “King of 1,000”.
And if Yoon can outperform Moon Dong-joo in the second half of the season, the KIA Tigers should be in good shape for the top four. That’s because Yoon is so important to the team.
Chung-Ango has been struggling lately. Compared to last year, when Yoon was in the lineup, their performance was somewhat disappointing. After all, the aftermath of losing their ace is huge. In yesterday’s broadcast, they lost to Choi Kang Baseball. When Yoon Young-cheol was on the team, ChungamGo pushed Choi Kangyoo to the brink and won that game.메이저사이트
“See? I told you I was worth the money, right? I was much better than the mercenary (Medina), but Young-cheol has already paid for his contract.”
Lee Young-bok, who rose to stardom with Choi Kang-baseball, said in a gravelly voice.
