Reborn After Asian Games... Bae Chan-seung Transforms into 'Fall Guardian'

[Anchor]

The most shining rising star in this professional baseball Korean Series is Samsung pitcher Bae Chan-seung, who earned a save in Game 2 yesterday (November 4). After returning from the Asian Games, he overcame chronic control issues and leaped forward as Samsung's bullpen ace.

Reporter Bae Jeonghun analyzes what has changed.

[Reporter]

Bae Chan-seung emerged as a top prospect last year by setting the all-time record for average fastball velocity by a domestic left-handed pitcher, but he suffered from a "sophomore slump" until this past summer.

Until September, he suffered from severe control struggles, giving up more walks than strikeouts, and failed to earn trust on the Asian Games national team, appearing in only two low-leverage games.

However, he became a completely different pitcher after returning from the Asian Games.

Inspired by national team senior Kwak 빈, he shortened his arm stroke, which increased his average fastball velocity by more than 4 km/h. He also refined a changeup that breaks away from right-handed batters, turning it into his primary weapon.

With heightened confidence and reduced walks, Bae continued a scoreless streak over his final five regular-season appearances, and has grown even further in the postseason.

After taking on increasingly important roles in the Samsung bullpen following the absence of closer Kim Jae-yun, he stepped up in the 12th inning of Game 2 of the Korean Series yesterday with his team holding a one-run lead. He shut down KT's cleanup hitters with two strikeouts, securing his first postseason save of his career.

[Bae Chan-seung / Samsung Pitcher: I knew I had to go in and stop them from scoring to win, so I tried to shake off the pressure as much as possible and just pitch.]

Emerging as Samsung's new bullpen ace, Bae stated his bold goal of putting on a championship ring in Daegu.

[Bae Chan-seung / Samsung Pitcher: Using this victory as a stepping stone, we will do our best to win Games 3, 4, and 5 (held in Daegu).]

(Photo courtesy of Samsung Lions)
(Video reporting: Hwang In-seok | Video editing: Lee Hong-myung | Design: Kang Yoon-jung, Hwang Se-yeon, Hyun Min-hee)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.