Ponce 'Best title' challenger appeared... Foncé D'Aquan's solo braking, there was a madman in May
Ponce 'Best title' challenger appeared... Foncé D'Aquan's solo braking, there was a madman in May
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As of Tuesday, Cody Ponce (31) of the Hanwha Eagles ranks first in ERA in the KBO League. Ponce pitched 72 innings in 11 games this season, starting with an overwhelming start with eight wins and no losses with an ERA of 1.63.
There are many criteria for evaluating pitchers, but the most intuitive indicator is also the ERA. It is also an indispensable indicator when discussing the best pitcher. For the time being, there will be no players who can challenge Ponce's record. It is because he has been performing at his peak, and his competitors who have maintained a one-point ERA or were on the fringes of it have retreated.
Suddenly, however, a challenger appeared in front of Ponce. It is quite serious, too. Ponce began to threaten the title he currently holds. While others are backpedaling, he continues to attack with ferocity. Drew Anderson, a 31-year-old SSG foreign fireballer, is the hero. With his fiery fastball, he proudly challenged the title of the league's best pitcher. He actually reached that position.
Anderson started the game against the NC Dinosaurs at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on Wednesday, and pitched seven innings without allowing five hits, four outs, and eight strikeouts. Although his fifth win of the season went up in smoke because his team failed to meet Anderson's winning conditions with a one-point lead, it was a game that showed Anderson's recent upturn and explosive power. Anderson had an ERA of 0.99 in nine games from the match against Samsung in Daegu on April 9, shortly after returning from maternity leave.
Anderson, one of the fastest bowlers in the league, cooked for the NC Dinosaurs by properly mixing fastballs with curves and changeups with up to 157.8 kilometers per hour (based on track man) on the day. He suppressed the crisis by pressing NC batters with his strength even when the runner was out. Most of all, he lacked four pitches. Anderson felt that his sense of command for breaking balls other than fastballs was approaching its peak recently, but that was the case on this day. He didn't throw away many balls in particular.
Anderson, who joined the team as an alternative foreign player last year, was originally a fastball pitcher. He threw fastballs in the mid to late 150 kilometers range last year as well. Although his RBI is not high, he drags the ball forward and throws it. And it gives the impression that this ball does not fall off based on strong power but flies like a laser. That's why it's really hard to hit high-fast balls. This is even more so because it's a trajectory that KBO league hitters have not seen well so far.
However, last year's performance was inconsistent due to ball control, especially breaking ball commands. Originally, Anderson had confidence in changeups, but last year, he struggled because he did not fit well with the new official ball. As a result, he changed his repertoire with curves and sliders to finish the season. It was Anderson's task, and he also intensively practiced breaking ball commands during the actual spring camp.
It is a huge success. The curve that I felt good about since last year remains the same. You can drop it to induce a swing and miss, or you can just put it in the zone to catch a strike. For a curveball, the speed is fast and the drop is quite large. Basically, he is a player who needs to adjust the timing of a fast ball, so it is more difficult to hit this curve. Change-up, which was difficult last year, solved by learning "kick change-up." As expected, the command continues to improve. When a player copes with a breaking ball, more than 155 kilometers of bullets fly right away. It is almost impossible to hit a ball even if it is aimed at it. 메이저놀이터
Anderson lowered his earned run average (ERA) from 2.08 to 1.85 through Tuesday's game. His ERA in May was 0.30 in five games. He struck out 39 times during 29 ⅔ innings. He has close to the 1.63 font. There is a gap between Ponce and Anderson, who can become similar again if he throws well in a single game. The winner of the strikeout category, which Ponce seemed to dominate, is no longer known. Through Tuesday, Ponce had 97 and Anderson had 93.
The competition for the number of strikeouts per nine innings is also expected to continue. The highest ever in this category is 11.85 by Koo in 1996. Anderson posted 13.22 this year and Ponce 12.13 this year, ranking first and second in the history. Although the season will be over, considering the pitches of the two players, chances are high that the No. 1 ranking will continue until the end, surpassing Koo's record.