21G's 15th win, a surprise secret weapon brought out by Hanwha

Kim Kyung-moon, manager of the Hanwha Eagles in the professional baseball league, was asked about the starting pitcher the next day ahead of the match against Cheongju NC on the 20th, but he did not say anything. Kim Ki-joong, the fifth starter, collapsed with nine hits (two home runs) and two walks and one out and 10 runs in four innings against Daejeon LG on the 15th, leaving a spot in the rotation empty as he went down to the second division. 

While Hwang Jun-seo, a rookie with 11 games experience as a starting player this year, was expected to be substituted, coach Kim Kyung-moon said, "I have to tell you who the starting player is, but that's the situation right now. We will decide according to the result of today's game." 

At the match against NC Dinosaurs on Tuesday, Hanwha won the game 3-2 and won its fourth consecutive game. Starting pitcher Moon Dong-joo had a good start with quality pitching of five hits (two homers), nine strikeouts and two runs with no outs in six innings, and then Yordana Peraza's walk-off home run hit in the bottom of the ninth inning after the bullpen session was in full operation, which continued to lead to Dr. Won (1 inning), Kim Seo-hyun (1 inning), Han Seung-hyuk (0 inning), and Joo Hyun-sang (1 inning). 

The starting pitcher for the match against NC Dinosaurs was right-hander Kim Do-bin (23), which Hanwha announced after garnering a thrilling victory. Given that he is not familiar to baseball fans and is not well known to even most Hanwha fans, it is truly a surprise card. 

Kim Do-bin, a graduate of Sungji and Gangneung Yeongdong University, is a right-handed orthodox pitcher with a physique measuring 190 centimeters tall and weighing 95 kilograms. He spent a year with Suwon Fine Eagles, an independent baseball team, last year after failing to win the rookie draft. At that time, he caught the eye of Hanwha and joined the team as a nurturing player this year. 

In this year's Futures League, he recorded three wins, one loss and two holds with an earned run average of 3.99 strikeouts and 67 strikeouts in 17 games (49 ⅔ innings). Starting as a relief pitcher, he started the game from the end of May. He pitched in nine games as a starter, and won two games. Most recently, he had three hits (one homer) in five innings, walked five, struck out four, and allowed two runs in a match against SSG held in Ganghwa on the 16th. 

Kim joined the first team ahead of the match against NC Dinosaurs in Cheongju on Tuesday. He joined outfielders Lee Jin-young, Kwon Kwang-min, Euro Gyeol, and infielder Han Kyung-bin in training without registering for entry. "It's September soon, and I uploaded a few players in advance to adjust to the situation," manager Kim Kyung-moon said. "I sang the song with the expanded entry in mind." 

Ahead of the match against KIA in Daejeon on April 19, Kim had joined the first team along with catcher Heo In-seo and outfielders Lee Jin-young and Jeong An-seok for one day of training. He was also announced as a starting pitcher the next day after the second first team training session ended on May 20. He is still a nurturing player, but he will be registered in the first team entry along with changing into an official player before the match on May 21. 

Kim Do-bin's strength is that he hits a fastball from his 190-centimeter-tall height. He measures up to 149 kilometers per hour in this year's Futures League. He sprayed mid-140 kilometers on average, but he seems to have gotten a little tired in the summer. He has a changeup as a decision ball. In an interview with a KBO Futures League broadcaster after the game against Doosan held in Seosan on June 26, Kim said about the changeup, "When I joined Hanwha this year, my Futures pitching coach Park Jung-jin enabled me to throw well. As I threw a lot, I think I made it mine." 

Focusing on fastballs and changeups, he garnered 67 strikeouts during 49 ⅔ innings. His ball count is good enough to reach 12.1 pitches per nine innings, but he also gave up 43 walks. He is still having difficulty controlling his ball with 7.8 walks per nine innings. 

In 21 games, including four consecutive wins, the Hanwha Eagles has accelerated to 15 wins and six losses (.714 win rate), narrowing the gap with fifth-ranked SSG to 1.5 games. With the semifinal battle in earnest, Kim Do-bin will make a surprise start. Although there is a burden to continue the team's winning streak at Cheongju Stadium, which is called the tomb of pitchers, blocking short innings can be of great help to the team as Hanwha's batting lineup and bullpen are strong. However, the variable is that there is a possibility that Kim Do-bin's debut match may be postponed to the next time due to rain forecast from the afternoon in Cheongju.
 

BY: 안전놀이터