“The thing I hate the most while playing baseball is walking. It’s better to hit a home run rather than walk.”스포츠토토
Can ‘Resignation Jesus’ lead the Lotte Giants to fall baseball for the first time in six years?
Lotte’s last postseason is 2017. It was the first and last fall baseball season since former coaches Jerry Royster and Yang Seung-ho, and it was the year Lee Dae-ho returned to the KBO League.
Last winter, he spent 26 billion won on free agent recruitment and non-FA extension contracts, sharpening his sword for this season, but the results so far are not satisfactory.
Even two foreign players were replaced, revealing undying passion. Nico Goodrum has yet to show an impressive appearance at bat, but he has the effect of strengthening the infield defense.
On the other hand, Aaron Wilkerson, who replaced Strayley, is a good guy every day. He achieved 3 consecutive quality starts (QS, 6 or more starting innings and 3 earned or less) in 4 games, and was responsible for 6-7-6 innings with less than 100 pitches. In particular, the match against SSG Landers in Busan on the 6th became the main player in the 3rd ‘Team No-Hitter’ in KBO’s career, and even the match against the Busan KIA Tigers on the 11th led to victory, showing off the presence of 14 consecutive innings without a run + 4 balls.
His only 4 walks during a total of 24 innings are impressive. Although he is not a pitcher with a style that overwhelms batters, he prepared a turning point to lead Lotte’s rebound in the second half with an ERA of 1.88.
His pitch interval is not long, and his confidence in command puts the ball into the strike zone at a fast tempo. In particular, the appearance of maintaining a firm mentality even in situations where his defensive mistakes could shake him gave a sense of stability to the fielding team. Captain Ahn Chi-hong emphasized, “Because Wilkerson doesn’t throw a lot of balls, innings progress quickly and his concentration on defense improves. His ability to shake the batter’s timing is good, so it’s easy to defend.”
After the match, Wilkerson emphasized, “It was a victory brought by the team coming together as one.” “I brought victory. The help of the beasts was great, and I worked well with catcher Son Seong-bin. I will make sure to achieve results for the rest of the season,” he promised.
The KIA-Lotte match was held at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 11th. In the top of the first inning, catcher Son Seong-bin stopped Park Chan-ho from stealing a base and finished the inning by catching Na Seong-beom’s foul hit. Wilkerson is delighted. Busan = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com/2023.8.11/
He showed his view of baseball through ‘Giants TV’. “The thing I hate the most while playing baseball is walking. Because I give a batter a base for free.” He then added, “It’s better to get a hit or a home run than to give a walk. When the count is full, I throw more aggressively.” On this day, he also conveyed his affection for his wife, whom he had intuition on the spot.
However, Son Seong-bin said, “Wilkerson said during the game, ‘My arm doesn’t come over well, so the ball floats.’
In the future, Lotte will have Wilkerson and Barnes, two foreign pitchers, rotate after a 4-day break. Lotte manager Larry Sutton is adjusting the number of pitches to less than 100, but the key is whether Wilkerson overcomes it well in the future.
Park Se-woong’s sluggish performance, Na Kyun-an’s recovery from injury, and the Asian Games period in which the two players are selected at once are the key factors that will determine fall baseball. Selected resources such as Lee In-bok and Han Hyun-hee have yet to give confidence. Before the KIA on the 12th, Jeong Seong-jong will pitch.