“KBO League hitters have good contact skills.”
Foreign pitcher William Cuevas (33), who had to leave for Korea due to injury after leading the KT Wiz to a combined championship in 2021, returned. After stepping on Korean soil for the first time in a while and meeting old teammates, he mentioned the difference between hitters in the KBO League based on his experience in various leagues.메이저사이트
Cuevas pitched in the bullpen ahead of the 8th game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League season against SSG Landers held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 14th. After returning to Korea on the 12th, he happily reunited with his old teammates and checked his pitching condition in the presence of manager Lee Kang-cheol.
Cuevas threw a total of 32 pitches. He checked his fastball, two-seam, cutter, curveball and changeup. Manager Lee Kang-cheol, who watched his pitching, said, “It is the same. Okay. It looks solid. It would be nice if he becomes a part of the starting lineup and leads it well.” Next, director Lee said, “He said, ‘Don’t worry’” and looked forward to it.
Cuevas was confirmed to start in the match against the Samsung Lions at Suwon’s home stadium on the 17th. He couldn’t hide his excitement when he met reporters at the KBO league stadium after a long time.
He said, “I met my KT colleagues in a year, but he seems to have never left. He was able to adapt quickly. He’s ready to go to the game. I want to quickly play with my KT colleagues.”
Cuevas, who debuted in the KBO League wearing a KT uniform for the first time in 2019, recorded an average ERA of 3.89 with 33 wins and 23 losses in 82 games over four seasons. In particular, in 2021, he led the Samsung Lions and Tiebreaker, which were held in the KBO League for the first time in 35 years, to victory, and also fought back in the Korean Series, leading to the first integrated championship since its founding.
However, he had to leave due to an injury midway through the 2022 season. Cuevas brushed off his elbow injury and started throwing again. The stage of his comeback was the Mexican League. After that, he went through the minor leagues in the US and came back to Korea.
He played for the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers of the Los Angeles Dodgers. He pitched in 11 games (nine starts) in the minor leagues, going 2-2 with a 6.14 earned run average. In the meantime, he also played in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) tournament held last March.
Cuevas said, “After leaving KT last year, I went to the Mexican league. In March of this year, I went to the WBC as a Colombian representative. After that, I signed a contract with the LA Dodgers and played in the US minor league, and then came back here again. It seems to be riding a roller coaster. I can’t believe I’m still in Korea.”
For about a year, he had a lot of experience from the Mexican league, the WBC international tournament to the US minor league. At the same time, we looked at the differences in the KBO league.
Cuevas, who has experienced more than three seasons, hurriedly came to Korea while digesting the schedule of minor league games, and confessed the difficulties of having to transfer by plane seven times in six days. There are one players. I can’t give you an exact answer, but the KBO league hitters definitely seem to have much better contact skills.”
Cuevas, who left with a record of 33 wins, 23 losses, and an ERA of 3.89 in 82 KBO League games. I am interested in what kind of pitch he will show when he climbs the mound in the KBO League again on the 17th.