Is it necessary to throw 150 kilometers to be cool?
Watching KIA right-hander Hwang Dong-ha (21)안전놀이터 pitch is refreshing. After receiving the ball, he steps on the pitching plate almost immediately and gets into the pitching stance without any fuss on the mound. The time to exchange autographs is short. When he receives the ball again after pitching, he takes a few breaths and gets right back into the pitching motion.
Hwang Dong-ha/KIA Tigers
Hwang Dong-ha/KIA Tigers
Hwang’s pitches can be a little overwhelming for batters. That’s because his tempo is so fast. In fact, in the first game of the Gwangju doubleheader against KIA on Sept. 9, several LG batters were scrambling to get back to the plate to match Hwang’s tempo.
Hwang is a second-year graduate of Inseong High School. He has been a consistent starter in the Futures League this season. He has a 6-4 record with a 3.43 ERA in 16 games. However, he lacks the game management skills required of a starting pitcher. He doesn’t overpower hitters with his pitches. According to baseball stats site Statiz, Hwang’s fastball averaged 142.1 mph in the first team this year.
As a result, even when he started in the first team, he was hit before the fifth inning, making it difficult for him to fulfill the requirements of a winning pitcher. He gave up three runs on four hits (two homers) and one walk in 4⅔ innings against Samsung Electronics in Daegu on Aug. 20, and two runs on four hits and two walks in 4⅓ innings in Game 1 of a doubleheader against LG in Gwangju on Aug. 9.
The common thread in both of these games is that he was still able to “make a game” of it by pitching into the fifth inning and limiting the damage to two or three runs. Despite his lack of first-team experience, he didn’t run away and throw too many pitches. Even when he didn’t have velocity, he was confident in his arsenal: slider, splitter, and curve. Fast tempo.
The advantages of a fast pitching tempo are obvious. Before the Gwangju LG game on the 10th, KIA manager Kim Jong-kook said, “It was a great performance against LG’s hitters, who have the highest batting average in the team. He didn’t make it past the fifth inning, but he did a great job and will have another chance next time. It’s a fastball style. The hitters have less time to think, and that can lead to bad results because they have less routine. The defense is also much more focused and can help the team.”
The game on August 20 was a temporary outing for Yang Hyun-jong as he took some time to regroup. Since then, he has received the stamp of approval from head coach Kim Jong-kook and is the number one on the substitute’s card. It was a doubleheader on the 3rd, so a substitute had to be used anyway. In any case, we can expect to see more of Hwang Dong-ha in the future. Mario Sanchez, who is undergoing an elbow injection, is showing signs of returning sooner than expected, but for the time being, we need a backup. Lee Yi-ri is also out this week with a callus on his finger.
This has two long-term implications. First, it gives Kia first-team experience for a potential future right-handed starter. It’s a slippery slope, but it’s good for the future. KIA has fewer native right-handed starters than left-handers. With this experience, there’s no reason why Hwang shouldn’t be in contention for the fifth spot next year.
There’s also the fact that he’s a pitcher with a solid advantage in the pitch clock, which the KBO will eventually adopt. The KBO will be installing pitch-clock equipment at one or two stadiums in Korea later this year. It plans to introduce the system starting with the Future League in 2024. The first pitch clock is just around the corner.
Hwang Dong-ha/KIA Tigers
Dong-Ha Hwang/KIA Tigers
The current Major League Baseball pitch clock requires pitchers to pitch in 20 seconds with runners on base and 15 seconds without. The clock starts when the ball is received by the pitcher or umpire. While many pitchers will be forced to adapt, Hwang won’t have to. It’s great to see KIA find a young right-handed pitcher who is refreshing to watch.