From bullpen hopeful to closer. The 22-year-old hard-throwing pitcher is turning into a true closer.
The SSG Landers switched their closer from Moon Seung-won to Cho Byung-hyun on the 2nd. The move took the pressure off Seung-won Moon, who has been the closer since the beginning of the season, and put it on the hard-throwing “Young-gun” Cho Byung-hyun.
While he still has his ups and downs, Cho has saved the team’s last two games in a row, securing victories in tight games. After coming on in the top of the ninth inning with the score tied at two against the Incheon Doosan Bears on April 11 and throwing one inning of no-hit ball without allowing an earned run, he came on in the bottom of the ninth inning with the score tied at two against the Changwon NC Dinos on April 13 and gave up just one hit and no runs. It was his third save of the season.
It was an emotional victory for SSG, which was 1-9 in NC games this season before this game. Cho Byung-hyun said, “Our team had a bad record in the NC, so we wanted to win no matter what. It feels good to come in at the end and not allow a run, so I think the team won,” he said.
With two outs,
Seo gave up a walk to Matt Davidson, the league’s home run leader, but Byung-hyun Cho ended the game with a fly ball to right field. “I was really disappointed that I gave up a straight ball to Seo Ho-cheol. (Catcher) Lee Ji-young came up and told me to just throw it hard with my chest. She told me it was going to be okay, so that’s what I threw. No matter how many home runs Davidson hit, he didn’t hit me, so I was confident,” he said.
After giving up a walk, Lee took to the mound himself to encourage Cho Byung-hyun, Lee Ji-young, and the infielders. “He asked Ji-young, 파워볼실시간 ‘Is the ball good right now,’ and he said, ‘It looks good to me, too.’ After hearing that, I tried to throw more confidently. I just felt like I was going to win today,” he recalled.
Cho Byung-hyun was the Futures’ save king last year after being converted to the closer role. His experience in the first team is different, but he is enjoying the nervousness. “I haven’t played many games yet, but there are definitely a lot of tight games. I think it’s more thrilling and more fun because it’s the position that ends the game,” he laughs.
Bitter pill, too.
Shortly after the change to the closer’s role, he pitched against the Samsung Lions in Daegu on April 2 with a 3-2 lead and a one-run deficit, giving up a tying solo home run to Lee Sung-kyu too easily and allowing the next batter, Kim Young-woong, to reach base on a fielding error. Unable to close out the game, SSG lost momentum and lost the game in the middle of the inning, falling to a 3-2 defeat.
Reflecting on the game, Cho Byung-hyun said, “There were some parts where I was a little complacent, and I think I improved after that game. It was a big lesson for me. When it comes down to the ninth inning, we have one more chance to attack in the bottom of the ninth at home, but we don’t have a chance away. I feel more responsible, and I’m more focused,” he said.
Although he joined the SK Wyverns as a rookie in 2021, this is actually his first season with the first team. “I want to play a lot of games this season, and I don’t feel like I’m out of shape at all. The conditioning coaches and strength coaches have done a lot of work, and the manager and coaches have done a lot of work. I think my changeup is still more important, and on bad days, I tend to turn sideways (when pitching) without realizing it, and I think if I can work on that, I’ll be a better player,” he said, pointing out some of the things he thinks he needs to work on.
Now 22 years old. The SSG Mound has a brighter future with a new closer with endless possibilities.