For Lee Min-woo (30), a right-hander of the Hanwha Eagles, 2023 has been a long wait. He waited for the call-up by starting the season with the Futures League without making the list of spring camps in the first division, but rarely got a call. He sought to expand his roster in September, but his name was not on the list of five players that went up on the first day. This year, the Hanwha bullpen was not bad, and Lee’s performance in the Futures League was not good, as he had an ERA of 5.40 due to two massive losses.
Having played in the second division for more than five months. If you are not a young player or a veteran player who just turned 30, it would be okay to let go of him after being frustrated. However, Lee didn’t give up. He continued to throw balls in the Futures League after September. He endured by waiting for just one chance that he might have never seen. Since July, he pitched hard with an earned run average of 2.77 in 13 games in the Futures League.
On Sept. 7, he finally received a long-awaited call from the first team. Then, on Sept. 8, he pitched in the first team for the first time in this season’s game against Kiwoom at Gocheok. Lee Min-woo, who was deployed at a one-run gap in the eighth inning when his team was leading 4-3, induced a double play with a grounder to the second base with one out, but was dismissed due to Jung Eun-won’s defense error. Both runners entered the home ground and lost two runs on an unauthorized basis.
However, the very next day, he pitched in the second game of a doubleheader against Kiwoom, stopping it with three outs in the sixth inning and winning the game. He also pitched in the game against Kiwoom on Sunday, and secured the hold by allowing three outs in the first inning. Lee Min-woo, who had a chance to recover from the bullpen session by pitching three consecutive games as soon as he moved to the first team, was an all-weather pitcher of the Hanwha bullpen at the end of this season. He pitched in five consecutive games, including two three consecutive games. 에볼루션 바카라사이트
His performance this year was two wins, one loss, two holds, and an earned run average of 2.63 strikeouts in 17 games (13 ⅔ innings). Though not a lot of samples, his pitching performance was stable with 1.02 WHIP and 16.7 hits. Choi Won-ho, Hanwha’s manager, said, “He showed better-than-expected performance,” citing Lee Min-woo as one of the last-day performances.
“I have played the role of starting pitcher and long-relief throwing a lot,” said Choi Won-ho, who has been watching Lee Min-woo since the coach of the Futures League last year. “However, there were some situations where I threw well but suddenly got worse,” he said. “I think the bullpen, which allows me to use my strength in a short and thick way, suits me well. Basically, I have strong pitching with a mid-140 kilometer fastball, and I have good RBI. Cutters and curves are also good. I think being nervous and focused in a tight situation has boosted my performance.”
Lee Min-woo, who is working out at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon during his inactive period in December, said, “It was good in the second half, but it was a very disappointing season. I moved up to the first team too late than I thought. As soon as I came up to the team, I pitched three consecutive games, and I desperately worked hard thinking that I should not miss this opportunity, and the result came out.”
“I thought that if I did well in Futures for a month or two, I would be in the first team, but the timing was not right. As a result, I lost my mind and my grades went down. I was disappointed that I didn’t get a chance, but I held on thinking, “I only need to get one chance.” I didn’t want to show myself that I let go.”
Lee Min-woo, a graduate of Hyocheon High School and Kyungsung University, is a promising player who joined Kia through the first nomination in 2015. He consistently received opportunities as a starter at KIA, and won six games in 2020, but his potential has not fully blossomed. He lacked persistence as a starter, and switched to bullpen after making a temporary starter after being traded to Hanwha in April last year.
This year was the first season that all of the 1st and 2nd tier teams had exclusively focused on redemption. “I think the bullpen session is right for me. When I was with Kia in 2018, I told my coaches that I wanted to finish it off,” Lee said. “I will be on the roster for the first tier from the opening game next year, and continue my training as I would in the second half of this year.” In January this year, I will fly to Okinawa, Japan with Hyocheon High School senior Lee Tae-yang.