Yang Hyun-jong, who is active in the Texas Rangers, played a good job with two innings, one hit and three strikeouts in a demonstration match against the Milwaukee Brewers held at the American Family Fields of Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona, USA on the 14th (hereinafter Korean time). On the 8th, it was a dazzling hot fight that washed away the sluggishness of 1 inning, 2 hits (1 home run), 1 strikeout and 1 run against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
As the spring camp enters the middle, the squads of each club that started on a large scale, from existing big leaguers to prospects and camp inviters, are gradually being organized. In fact, not a few players, led by prospects and invited players, went down to the minor leagues and left the camp. In this situation, Yang Hyeon-jong’s second appearance in the demonstration game left a strong impression on the coaching staff in Texas, including coach Chris Woodward.
KBO League Ace taken with a snow stamp for the second appearance
Baseball fans who were disappointed when Yang Hyun-jong, who was reigning as the best ace in the KBO League, signed a split contract with Texas on February 12 that included an invitation to spring camp (a contract whose salary varies depending on the number of days included in the major and minor leagues). Not a few. It was an opinion that there was no need to advance to the United States because the major leagues accepted an unguaranteed contract. However, Yang Hyun-jong’s will to serve on the mound of the’dream stage’ was greater than the pride of KBO League Ace.
The major league, which had a mini-season of 60 matches per team last year due to the influence of Corona 19, cannot guarantee the normal progression of the season, as the opening of the minor league was postponed this year. Therefore, Hyeonjong Yang, who signed a split contract, had a burden that he had to be included in the opening roster of the major leagues by taking a snow stamp of the coaching staff at the spring camp. This is because it is very difficult for a pitcher in his 30s without a name like Hyunjong Yang to be called from the majors again once he goes down to the minor leagues.
The start wasn’t very good. On the 8th, Yang Hyun-jong made his debut in the demonstration game with his fourth pitcher in the eighth inning against the Dodgers, hitting two hits including one home run in one inning and gave it a point. Of course, the Dodgers are the strongest team that won the World Series last year, but the batters that Yang Hyun-jong faced were minor or invited players, not the Dodgers’ flagship hitters such as Muki Betz, Justin Turner, and Cody Bellinger. This was why Yang Hyun-jong was not satisfied with his first appearance in the demonstration game.
However, it didn’t take long for Yang Hyeon-jong to find his condition and spray his ball. On the 14th in Milwaukee expedition, Yang Hyeon-jong appeared on the mound in the fifth inning after Kyle Cody and Jimmy Hergett, blocking 2 innings with 1 hit, 3 strikeouts and no loss, showing a perfect pitching. Yang Hyeon-jong was hit by the lead batter in the 5th inning, but he ended the 5th pitching without a residual base with a strikeout, a stealing failure, and a straight-forth shortstop.
Yang Hyun-jong, who also reached the mound in the 6th inning, ended the inning neatly with a three-letter retreat, catching the lead batter with a right field fly and then struck out the other two batters. The first victory of the demonstration game was blown by the subsequent pitcher’s goal, but it was an impressive pitching content that caught the eyes of the coaching staff. In particular, it was encouraging that players with thick bones in the major leagues such as Jackie Bradley Jr. and Abisail Garcia were treated as strikeouts and hits.
Meanwhile, Shohei Otani,’Lee Do-ryu’, who started in the demonstration game against the Chicago White Sox on the same day, was sluggish with 5 hits (1 home run), 1 walk, 3 strikeouts and 5 runs in 1.2 innings. Otani, who had been sluggish with an average ERA of 37.80 last year, declared ‘Resurrection of Lee Do-ryu’ this year, but the performance in the demonstration game is still sluggish with 3.1 innings and 6 runs and an ERA of 16.20. On the other hand, Otani is wielding a batting average of .538 (13 at bats, 7 hits), 1 home run, 3 RBIs, and 4 points in the demonstration game at bat.
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