| ▲ Hanwha pitching coach Jose Rosado (left) is explaining the slider grip to Yoon Dae-kyung ahead of the away game once morest SSG held at Incheon SSG Landers Field on the 4th. Provided by Hanwha |
Incheon = Reporter Jeong Se-young
Right-hander Yoon Dae-kyung (29) has firmly established himself as a strong starting card for Hanwha.
Coach Carlos Subero praised starting pitcher Yoon Dae-kyung before the away game once morest SSG at Incheon SSG Landers Field on the 4th. Yoon Dae-kyung left 3 hits and 1 run in 6 innings once morest SSG the day before. He was substituted at the bottom of the 7th inning once morest 1-1, but did not secure a victory, but showed off his solid pitching once morest the opponent’s banging line. Coach Subero said, “Yoon Dae-kyung did an excellent job. I want to commend the opponent for using the 2nd or 3rd change ball well following one lap,” he said with thumbs up.
Yoon Dae-kyung is in his third year in the first team. He has many stories. After being selected by Samsung as a batter in 2013, Yoon Dae-kyung changed his career as a pitcher right away, but did not make it to the first team stage. Yoon Dae-kyung was released from Samsung in early 2019, and following that, he continued his playing career in the Japanese independent league Niigata Albirex. Yoon Dae-kyung, who caught the eye of the Hanwha scouting team in 2019, signed a contract during the 2019 season. In his first year in the first team, 2020, Yoon Dae-kyung left an outstanding record with a 5-7 hold average ERA of 1.59 in 55 games, and posted an ERA of 3.94 with 2 wins, 5 losses and 7 holds in 43 games last year.
Yoon Dae-kyung, who played as an all-weather pitcher regardless of starting and middle last year, was fixed as the fourth starter this year. Currently, Dae-kyung Yoon is the most reliable card in the Hanwha starting mound. As of the 4th, Yoon Dae-kyung has appeared in a total of 6 games and has 1 win, 1 loss and a 3.68 ERA. In particular, Yoon Dae-kyung led more than five innings in five starts as a starting pitcher, and three of them were decorated with quality starts (more than 6 innings and less than 3 earned runs).
Yoon Dae-kyung’s hot-to-n slider played a big role. Coach Subero said, “I put sliders on the fastball, curve, and changeup this year, and it became a good weapon. This is the reason why Yoon Dae-kyung has good results regardless of left or right hitter.” In fact, looking at Yoon Dae-kyung’s pitch distribution this season, sliders account for 17.1%, second only to fastballs (56.5%).
In fact, Yoon Dae-kyung might throw a slider, but he didn’t use it much. Yoon Dae-kyung’s slider was only 4% in 2020 and 6% last year. The advice of pitching coach Rosado was decisive for Yoon Dae-kyung to increase the proportion of the slider this year. During the spring camp, Dae-kyung Yoon consulted coach Rosado, “I want to become a better starting pitcher,” and coach Rosado advised, “Increase the weight of the slider.”
Coach Rosado said, “What Dae-kyung Yoon needed was a pitch that flew and broke in a trajectory similar to that of a fastball. That was the slider. “He’s a very good pitcher with a curve, but he thinks the pitch he needs to strike out is a slider,” he said. He continued, “I practiced little by little and made it into my own ball. It wasn’t created overnight. Still can’t say it’s 100% complete. However, I want to highly appreciate that Dae-kyung Yoon found a grip that was right for him while researching himself.”
However, the slider is beyond expectations. Yoon Dae-kyung’s batting average for the slider this year is 0.111, and he has the best fastball (0.254), curve (0.182), and changeup (0.364) he can throw. Yoon Dae-kyung said, “Last year, when I was in my best condition as a starting pitcher, it was fine, but it was not easy to deal with batters with just a changeup. While he was thinking regarding it, with the advice of Coach Rosado, he increased the slider ratio and it worked. The coach told me not only the grip but also the throwing tip.” He smiled broadly, saying, “Coach Rosado’s tips are trade secrets.”
Yoon Dae-kyung said, “I’m aiming for 5 wins. If I can achieve it, then I will try to raise it.” Yoon Dae-kyung is giving breath to Hanwha, where all foreign One-Two Punches have left. There is a reason why people around them say, “If it weren’t for Yoon Dae-kyung, he would have been terrible.”
