I said thank you first No one can throw like Ponce...Will it be a turning point for foreigners with seven wins?

Jul 08, 2025

I said thank you first No one can throw like Ponce...Will it be a turning point for foreigners with seven wins?
Lotte-KIA match held at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 6th. Lotte starter Davison is delighted after finishing the first inning without losing a point. Gwangju = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.7.6/



I said thank you first No one can throw like Ponce...Will it be a turning point for foreigners with seven wins?
Lotte Yoo Kang-nam for the interview. Reporter Kim Young-rok
Is there a head coach who doesn't dream of a one-two punch like Ponce-TWICE (Hanwha Eagles).

Not every pitcher can throw like an ace. However, if you are a foreign pitcher, you can expect him to be equivalent to the first starter. Unlike KBL, professional baseball does not have a rule of salary difference between foreigners.

In that sense, the Lotte Giants have no choice but to worry about Tucker Davidson. After pitching in the first half of the year, he started 18 games and played 102 ⅓, recording 7 wins, 5 losses and an ERA of 3.61. He has 10 quality starts (more than 6 innings and less than 3 earned runs).




Even if he fails, he holds out until the fifth inning. Only two games were replaced before the fifth inning. The ups and downs of each game are not big either. He has pitched five to six ⅓ innings in all of the last five games, and has pitched hard with two to three runs.

This is not far behind the average of Charlie Barnes, who played as an ace for three years until last year. There is no shortage as the team's second foreign pitcher targeting autumn baseball. He has a lively and pleasant personality, so he has a positive influence on team chemistry.

However, he did not have a presence that overwhelmed his opponent. Lotte is already tied for second place despite its relatively weak power and fierce ranking battle. It's natural to look beyond fall baseball.




Even if Gamboa and Choi Jun-yong are existing players, if there are Cinderella in the first half such as Lee Min-seok, Hong Min-ki, Jeon Min-jae, Lee Ho-joon, Jang Doo-sung and Kim Dong-hyuk, there are players who will return from injuries and sluggishness in the second half, starting with Hwang Sung-bin and Ko Seung-min, Son Dong-hee, Son Ho-young, Kim Jin-wook, and Han Hyun-hee. There are also more newcomers who are expected to perform on the first-tier stage, including Cho Se-jin, Kim Tae-hyun, Park Se-hyun and Park Jae-yeop. There is quite a lot of power to go up arithmetically.

I said thank you first No one can throw like Ponce...Will it be a turning point for foreigners with seven wins?
Lotte-KIA match held at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 6th. Davidson, who threw a hit ball to Kim Ho-ryeong at the end of the second inning with one out and runners on the first and second bases, is regretful. Gwangju = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.7.6/
In particular, there is already a successful replacement case called Gamboa. The theory that head coach Kim Tae-hyung has been shouting for since Lotte's inauguration is also gaining strength. Davison throws a fastball of up to 152km, but he is not an exceptional player with a rotation speed or pitch. The performance before the deception or release point at the beginning of the season is different from the performance after analysis,

In addition, in the end, the postseason is a battle between the first and third starts, and it is also true that Davison alone seems not enough in the situation where Park Se-woong is shaking. There is also a point in the opinion that there is a need for an 'adventure'.




Lotte's bullpen, which was overstretched in the first half, is also a concern. Chung Hyun-soo has already pitched in 51 league-high games in the first half alone, and Jeong Chul-won (44 games), Kim Sang-soo (41 games) and Song Jae-young (38 games) have also thrown a lot. Choi Jun-yong, who has just returned, is still cautious about his use. "If a foreign pitcher throws it up to the 7th inning, if possible, up to the 8th inning..." is a regrettable point.

What do you think of Kim Tae-hyung. It is a pity that Davison is not able to show his presence in pre-issuance"But there aren't many pitchers like that. He is a pitcher who has a sense of stability and does his part. He has repeatedly expressed his intentions as a calculating pitcher. Rather, Davison is more careful because he is afraid of shaking.

I said thank you first No one can throw like Ponce...Will it be a turning point for foreigners with seven wins?
Lotte-KIA match held at Kia Champions Field in Gwangju on the 6th. Lotte starter Davison is happy with Na Seung-yeop's good defense in the bottom of the first inning. Gwangju = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.7.6/
It would be nice if foreign pitchers on all teams were Ponce-Wice and Anderson-White, but the reality is tough. There is only one replacement card left. There's not much time to come and adjust. If you change a foreign pitcher and the result is worse than Davison, it is more difficult to make up for it.

That's why the experience of the Gwangju KIA Tigers match on the 6th is precious. On this day, Davison worked with main catcher Yoo Kang-nam instead of Information-geun, who has been practically a dedicated catcher. Although he scored two runs in five ⅔ innings due to the high number of pitches in the beginning, he showed the equivalent of a quality start.

Yoo Kang-nam has a bigger voice than other catchers in the team such as Information Geun, Son Sung-bin, and Park Jae-yeop. Still, coach Kim Tae-hyung's score is not bad in terms of analysis and ball mixing. If it's too bad, it's rather the ability to block or throw to second base, but Davison is quite good at checking the first base runner.

In particular, in terms of hitting compared to other catchers, it is at the level of 'Number Four Walls'. The batting average of 288 and four-homer OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.834 is also good, and he also has the ability to fly outfield balls or hits when necessary. If you can show a perfect match with Yoo Kang-nam, it can be the best answer.

I said thank you first No one can throw like Ponce...Will it be a turning point for foreigners with seven wins?
Lotte catcher Yoo Kang-nam is defending against Samsung and Lotte at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 22nd. Busan = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.06.22/
Yoo Kang-nam wore a catcher mask as a starter in all three away games in Gwangju. He also hit a two-run final. He added "As much as he worked with Davidson, he put more emphasis on defense. I'm more happy to help Davison win." Davison's seventh win of the season was his first win in 49 days since the match against the Samsung Lions on May 18.

Yoo Kang-nam responded to the question, "'Did Davidson say thank you?'"I said thank you first. I told them that they worked really hard," he said with a big smile.

"When I go out as a catcher, if the starting pitcher's probability of winning is not high, I don't feel good from the catcher's point of view." I paid a lot of attention and tried in various ways. Also, today, I think making a lot of changes (in ball mixing) has led to good results."





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.