Kim Tae-hoon (Samsung), a ‘trade transfer student’, made a good impression on manager Park Jin-man by making a save with a perfect pitch in one inning on the first day of the transfer.
Samsung coach Park Jin-man met with reporters ahead of the season’s first confrontation with KT in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League held at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 28th and gave a thumbs up to Kim Tae-hoon’s save the day before.
Kim Tae-hoon 메이저놀이터made his Samsung debut against Daegu Doosan on the 27th and reported his first save of the season with a scoreless pitch in one inning. On the mound in the 9th inning with a slight lead of 7-6, Heo Gyeong-min, pinch hitter Song Seung-hwan and Jo Su-haeng were eliminated with 9 balls, finishing the game neatly. Kim Tae-hoon left the friendly Kiwoom through a trade with Lee Won-seok the morning before and made a new nest at Samsung.
Coach Park said, “There must have been a burden, but I believed in the player. He also thought he would. He performed the task perfectly with a one-point lead. I think he will be a great help to the bullpen in the future,” he said with a satisfied smile.
Initially, there was no plan to have Kim Tae-hoon finish it. However, after seeing how he faced the first batter, he decided to commit to one inning entirely. Director Park said, “I tried to leave only the first hitter to Kim Tae-hoon. Lee Seung-hyun had a lot of pitches the day before, and he was weak against Heo Gyeong-min. Since Heo Gyeong-min, he was a left-handed hitter, so he was preparing Lee Seung-hyun,” he said. “But when I saw the pitch, he threw it with strength and confidence. I believed in it and pushed on,” he explained.
Director Park continued, “I have seen him save on the field from before. He liked the confidence and eyes that overwhelm batters on the mound. However, as expected, he threw his own ball from the first batter. He thought he was a great bullpen pitcher, as he had been told.”
Kim Tae-hoon is expected to keep the back door as a member of the Samsung group finishing system in the future. Coach Park said, “Now our team is a group finishing system. Depending on the other line, we will appoint an irregular finisher.”
Meanwhile, the Samsung, which is aiming for a three-game winning streak, is Kim Ji-chan (2nd baseman) – Jose Pirella (left fielder) – Koo Ja-wook (right fielder) – Kang Min-ho (designated hitter) – Oh Jae-il (1st baseman) – Lee Jae-hyeon (shortstop) – Kim Young-woong (3rd baseman) – Lee Byung-hun ( Catcher) – Kim Seong-yoon (center fielder). The starting pitcher is Albert Suarez.
For the first team entry, Kim Tae-gun, who recovered from acute hepatitis, and starter Suarez were called up, and Jang Pil-jun and Lee Jae-hee were canceled. Coach Park said, “We needed a catcher, and Kim Tae-gun played in the Futures game yesterday and the day before yesterday. He said that his physical condition has also improved. In the future, the proportion of Kang Min-ho’s designated hitter is expected to increase, so the 3rd catcher system was formed.