Transforming Velocity and Control: The Birth of a New Closer

[Anchor]

KIA Tigers pitcher Lee Eui-lee, who previously struggled with chronic control issues in professional baseball, is drawing massive attention for his dramatic turnaround. After completing a training stint in Japan, he has transformed into an elite relief pitcher, boasting velocity at the historic peak for left-handers alongside solid control.

Reporter Lee Seonghun has the story.

[Reporter]

Until May, Lee Eui-lee faced the worst crisis of his baseball career.

His already shaky control worsened further, recording the highest walk frequency among starting pitchers in the league, while his ERA approached double digits.

As a last resort during the season, he took a short-term training trip to a popular pitching training center in Japan, and it turned out to be a stroke of genius.

Upon returning to the first team in July, Lee's fastball reached a staggering top speed of 158 km/h.

His average velocity jumped by nearly 5 km/h compared to the first half of the season, surpassing 153 km/h. This is even faster than the historic record for left-handers of 152.6 km/h set by Gamboa, who played for the Lotte Giants and advanced to the big leagues this year.

As he increased the usage of his vastly improved fastball—now at a level unseen before for a left-handed pitcher—his strike percentage rose in tandem. With batters no longer able to simply wait for balls, they swung more often, causing his walk rate to plummet by half and drop below the league average.

Conquering both velocity and control simultaneously, Lee has dominated opposing batting lineups with a 1.64 ERA over nine appearances in the second half of the season, prompting his promotion to the guardian angel of the KIA Tigers.

Last Tuesday, he cleanly retired three core left-handed batters from the Samsung Lions to secure his first-ever save, and yesterday (August 16) against the Doosan Bears, he dispatched the heart of the opponent's batting order in a 1-2-3 inning to preserve a one-run lead and notch another save.

[Lee Eui-lee / KIA Pitcher: I am so happy to be able to take on the closer role, and as long as it helps the team, I am willing to pitch in any position. Thinking about putting in maximum effort for just one inning helps me stay more focused, which seems to be working well.]

With Jeong Hae-young and Sung Young-tak wavering and the closer position posing a dilemma, the KIA Tigers have reinforced their bullpen through Lee's dramatic transformation, gaining momentum in their fierce battle for third place against the LG Twins and Doosan Bears.

(Video Editing: Ha Seongwon)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.