The 2023 season is full of great records
Yang Hyun-jong is looking at the introduction of the milestone (170 innings for 9 consecutive seasons) carved on the electronic display.
The 2023 season also saw a lot of great records. The Korean national baseball players proved their presence, and the new players who will lead the new era also made meaningful milestones.
"Great pitcher" Yang Hyun-jong (KIA Tigers) started in the final home game against the NC Dinos of the 2023 KBO League at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 17th and led his team KIA to a 7-1 complete victory with five hits and one run in seven innings.
KIA has already failed to advance to the postseason, but Yang Hyun-jong took the mound for fans in the final home game of the 2023 season. Above all, it was an opportunity to extend the record of exceeding 170 innings in a single season that has continued for the past eight seasons. He had accumulated 164 innings until the previous day (16th), and achieved his goal by completing seven innings, extending this record. It was the first time in KBO League history.
NC ace Eric Peddy, nicknamed "ecosystem disturbance species," pitched six scoreless innings against the Hanwha Eagles at Changwon NC Park on the 10th, leading NC to a 2-0 victory and achieving his 20th win (6 losses) this season. He struck out one by one in the first and second innings of the game, surpassing 200 strikeouts this season.
Peddy became the first pitcher to achieve 20 wins-200 strikeouts in 37 years following Sun Dong-yeol (former national team coach) in 1996. It was the fifth record ever. Peddy won three gold medals in the regular season, which ended on the 17th, ranking first in the categories of multiple wins (20), ERA (2.00), and strikeouts (209).
Oh Seung-hwan, the "final king," also set an unprecedented record. On the 14th, when the final home game was held, his team, the Samsung Lions, took the mound after two outs in the top of the eighth inning with a 4-3 lead and saved 1 1/3 innings without losing a point. He induced a grounder to first base against "the same age" Choo Shin-soo as his first batter in the mound, and in the ninth inning, he gave up two walks and seemed to be shaking, but he completed the task by dealing with Guillermo Heredia and Park Sung-han as poor batting.
Oh Seung-hwan, who built 400 saves in the KBO League against Daegu SSG on the 14th. Courtesy of Samsung Lions
It was Oh's 400th career save. Even after playing on the Japanese and American stages from the 2014 season to the 2019 season, he achieved a milestone that was difficult to come back. Son Seung-rak (current KIA Tigers second-tier coach) has 271 saves in the KBO League. The current record among players in their 20s is LG Twins closure Ko Woo-suk, who has recorded 139.
Veteran bullpen pitcher Jung Woo-ram of the Hanwha Eagles also set a record of taking the mound in 1,000 games for the first time in history against NC on the 2nd. Debuting in April 2004, he served as a setup man and a closer for 18 seasons in the KBO League, leaving his career with 197 saves and 145 holds. Ryu Taek-hyun (retired) has played 901 games in his career. LG's Jin Hae-soo took the second place as an active pitcher 788 times. Jung Woo-ram's record is also unlikely to be broken for the time being.
KIA veteran hitter Choi Hyung-woo hit a two-run home run in the top of the fourth inning against Hanwha on June 20, surpassing 1,500 RBIs for the first time ever. SSG Choi also scored 1356 points against Hanwha on September 6, rising to the top of the list.
Young players also made meaningful records. Moon Dong-joo, a two-year Hanwha right-hander, hit a 160.1km/h fastball against Park Chan-ho in the bottom of the first inning against Gwangju KIA on April 12. The ball was the highest speed ever by a Korean player. 스포츠토토티비
Ahn Woo-jin (Kium), who is currently considered the league's No. 1 pitcher, struck out Park Gye-beom, Yang Eui-ji, and Yang Seok-hwan with three pitches in the top of the fifth inning against the Doosan Bears on May 18. It was the 14th time in history that he struck out three batters in a row. This season, rookies Moon Hyun-bin (Hanwha) and Kim Min-seok (Lotte) achieved triple-digit hits for high school graduates for the seventh and eighth time ever.