Professional baseball Hanwha Eagles pitcher Yoon San-heum raised expectations for the new season's mound.
Hanwha Eagles' official YouTube channel "Eagles TV" released footage of Yoon San-heum's bullpen pitching on the 13th. At the first spring camp in Melbourne, Australia, Yoon San-heum, who completed his fourth bullpen session, threw 50 pitches and checked various pitches including his fastball, curve and forkball.
Yoon San-heum looked back, saying "It was very heavy at the beginning, but as it went on I found my balance and it was okay," and said, "I'm not usually someone who throws a lot, but I'm practicing the forkball. It's not going as well as I'd like, so getting used to it physically comes first, so I'm doing a lot this year."
Yoon San-heum, who came from independent baseball team Paju Challengers, wore the Doosan Bears uniform as a developmental player but was released; he caught Hanwha's eye in 2021 and signed as a developmental player, seizing a new opportunity in the pros.
Yoon San-heum, who stepped onto the first-team stage from his first year after joining Hanwha, showed potential the following year with 37 games, 33 2/3 innings, a 2.67 earned run average, a 1-1 record and three holds. In 2023 he threw in five games and entered the military team, Sangmu Baseball Team, and after discharge he was immediately called up to the first team, pitching in 12 games for 16 2/3 innings with a 3.78 earned run average.
While playing in the Miyazaki instructional league, Yoon San-heum hurriedly boarded a plane to Korea as the team changed the roster to reinforce the Korean Series pitching staff. Dramatically joining the Korean Series roster, he appeared in one game, throwing one inning with one hit, one strikeout and one earned run, marking his first appearance in postseason baseball.
Yoon San-heum said, "Last year was a fertilizing year for me. I gained a lot of experience," and said, "I know better than anyone that this year is important. I've prepared hard every year, but I made all the plans during camp and came here, so I'm preparing more steadily."
With relievers Han Seung-hyeok and Kim Beom-Su leaving the bullpen, Hanwha is eyeing Yoon San-heum as a new candidate for the late-inning lock-down bullpen. Yoon San-heum said, "My first goal is to get my body in good condition at the start of the season. After doing well, I will focus on not getting injured."
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