9 consecutive wins for the first time in 20 years & 1st place ace alone...7G 5 wins and 61K Ponce selects Hanwha's first monthly MVP as a foreign pitcher

May 08, 2025

9 consecutive wins for the first time in 20 years & 1st place ace alone...7G 5 wins and 61K Ponce selects Hanwha's first monthly MVP as a foreign pitcher
Last 22 scoreless innings. Hanwha Ponce roars after pitching in the seventh inning against KT.



Cody Ponce (31) of Hanwha Eagles has been selected as the monthly MVP.

KBO announced on the 8th that `Ponce was selected as the monthly MVP from March to April.'

Hanwha Ponce, who received a total score of 41.97 points with 25 (71.4%) out of 35 votes cast by reporters and 38,934 (12.5%) out of 311,318 fan votes, was selected as the monthly MVP from March to April, beating Lotte's Jeon Min-jae, who scored 21.55 points with two reporters' votes and 116,390 fan votes.




Ponce's March-April period was overwhelming. He started seven games and won five games, ranking second in the winning category. From the game against Doosan Bears in Jamsil on April 9 to the game against KT in Daejeon on April 27, he recorded four consecutive wins. Hanwha recorded 6 wins and 1 loss in the game where Ponce started from March to April, and was able to gain momentum thanks to Ponce's performance.

He also topped the strikeout category with 61 strikeouts due to his powerful pitching. In particular, he struck out 13 against NC, which started on April 20, overwhelming opposing batters.

By the 7th game, he had 66 strikeouts, showing a pace of 8.25 strikeouts per game, so if he maintains his current pace, Miranda (Doosan)'s record of 225 strikeouts in the 2021 season is worth aiming for.




9 consecutive wins for the first time in 20 years & 1st place ace alone...7G 5 wins and 61K Ponce selects Hanwha's first monthly MVP as a foreign pitcher
Hanwha Ponce is giving high fives with his teammates at the match between Hanwha and KIA held at Gwangju KIA Champions Field on the 4th. Gwangju = Reporter's book@sportschosun.com/2025.05.04/
Ponce not only won and struck out, but also showed outstanding inning digestibility and was a great help to the team's mound management. He pitched 46 innings in seven games between March and April, averaging more than six innings per game. He also finished April with a 1.96 ERA, showing pitches of three runs or less in seven innings in five of seven games.

Amid Ponce's performance, Hanwha also continued its high flight. From the 13th to the 23rd of last month, he won eight consecutive games, and then won two consecutive games, but won nine consecutive games again. Hanwha's nine consecutive wins are the first in 20 years since the match against Doosan in Cheongju on June 4, 2005 and the match against KIA on June 14.

With Ponce's win, Hanwha will produce its first monthly MVP in two years. Hanwha's monthly MVP is the first since Roh Si-hwan in July 2023. As a pitcher for Hanwha, it has been about seven years since Jung Woo-ram in May 2018. He is also the first foreign pitcher of Hanwha to win the monthly MVP award.




9 consecutive wins for the first time in 20 years & 1st place ace alone...7G 5 wins and 61K Ponce selects Hanwha's first monthly MVP as a foreign pitcher
Samsung-Hanwha match held at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 7th. Ponce and Ryu Hyun-jin are watching the game. Daejeon = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.. 5.7/


This article was translated by Naver AI translator.