(SEOUL, South Korea) – 메이저사이트 Samsung Lions head coach Park Jin-man has been delighted with the resurgence of ‘endgame captain’ Oh Seung-hwan.
After falling into a severe slump in the early part of the season, Oh Seung-hwan took the extreme prescription of ‘starting’. He made his first start against the Daegu Kiwoom Heroes on March 3 and went five innings. He was subsequently dropped from the first team and returned after a 10-day break.
Coincidentally, while Oh was out, left-hander Lee Seung-hyun, the closer, was sidelined with an injury, so Oh returned to the closer’s role. Since then, he has pitched three consecutive scoreless games to signal his resurgence.
On the 19th against the NC Dinos, he pitched one scoreless inning in the bottom of the ninth with a 5-4 lead to earn his first save, and on the 21st, he pitched two scoreless innings in the 11th inning to earn the save.
“I think we won two games in Changwon thanks to Oh Seung-hwan,” Park said with a smile when we met before the 23rd game against the Doosan Bears in Jamsil. “I think he’s been refining himself well during the break. My confidence is also up. The bullpen situation is difficult right now, and Oh Seung-hwan is leading it well.”
When asked if the start helped him regain his pitching balance, he said, “I wanted to throw a lot of pitches and find my groove. I think it definitely worked because I saw that I got better after the start,” he said.
“Most importantly, I’ve diversified my pitching repertoire. As a veteran, you have to develop a new look because your physical abilities decrease as you get older. This is true not only for veterans, but also for young players. Seung-hwan Oh is setting an example,” and applauded his management of remaining competitive at such a young age.