“Lowering self-confidence” Samsung closer Oh Seung-hwan → left-hander Lee Seung-hyun
The Samsung Lions suddenly replaced Oh Seung-hwan (41) as their closer with left-hander Lee Seung-hyeon (21).
Samsung coach Park Jin-man delivered surprising news ahead of the Gocheok Kiwoom Heroes match on the 20th. Coach Park said, “For the time being, left-hander Lee Seung-hyun will be in charge of the finish.”
Oh Seung-hwan, the ‘leader of the end’, has been active as a finishing pitcher representing Korean baseball beyond Samsung. Having joined Samsung in 2005, he has accumulated saves by playing only in the ‘Lion Corps’ except for the period of overseas expansion (2014-2019).
It is 374 saves in his personal career in the KBO League since his debut. It is a ‘living legend’ that ranks first among all former and current closers. He is the only pitcher to reach 300 saves in the KBO League. The gap is also very large with Son Seung-rak (271 saves) in second place and Lim Chang-yong (258 saves) in third place. He recorded 496 saves in Korea, the US, and Japan, so he only had 4 saves to reach the long-awaited 500, but the brakes were briefly put on before the record.
Oh Seung-hwan’s start this season is somewhat uneasy, unlike in the past. He has 1 win, 1 loss and 4 saves in 7 games through the 20th, and an earned run average (ERA) of 4.91. He conceded in a whopping 4 of 7 games. In the match against Gocheok Kiwoom on the 19th, he took the mound with 2 out and 1st base in the bottom of the 9th inning with a 5-4 lead, but he made a blown save by giving consecutive hits to Lee Hyeong-jong and Edison Russell.
Coach Park said, “Oh Seung-hwan seems to have lost some confidence. He can’t throw his ball. After a meeting with the coaching staff, he decided to replace the closer with left-hander Lee Seung-hyun,” he explained. He added, “I will continue to be in the first team,” adding, “For the time being, I will throw the ball from the front as a bullpen pitcher and have time to regain my confidence and my own ball.” 안전놀이터