Kimchi-holic, I can't believe you're so serious about Korea, where did you pick another foreigner like this…If I lose, I'll be so upset that I can't sleep
Jul 20, 2025
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Lee Ho-joon, manager of the NC Dinos, recently finished the first half and ate with foreign players. Director Lee suggested eating eel that is good for your health. At the same time, I tried to encourage foreign players and hear if they had any difficulties in other countries, but I was surprised to find that ace Riley Thompson was more serious about the Korean baseball challenge than I thought.
Coach Lee said, `When Riley plays surprisingly, he has a tremendous desire to win. They also talk about it at meals, but they say they can't sleep because they're upset if they lose. Foreigners don't say that well, and they don't have that tendency, but they say that."
NC is a team that has picked the best aces in the league, including Drew Luchinski, Eric Peddy, and Kyle Hart. They all returned to the U.S. Major League after achieving great success in Korea. Riley caught the eye of such NC foreign scouts.
Riley came to Korea for a total of 900,000 dollars (about 1.2 billion won). As a player who only played in the minor leagues without major league experience, he did not receive up to $1 million (about 1.3 billion won).
NC noted Riley's fastball. In the United States, he recorded a maximum speed of 159 kilometers and an average speed of 151 to 154 kilometers. He evaluated that he has excellent ability to strike out based on a powerful fastball, but he is showing his skills as the club evaluated him on the mound.
Manager Lee said "Lily is a good pitcher for ABS due to his high RBI. The curve seems to come in a little high, but the ball comes in as it goes over the zone. The catcher seems to catch Riley on the floor when he throws, but there are times when it's a strike. Even if it looks low, it comes through the ABS. It looks like a ball to the eye, but there are quite a few balls that pass through the ABS. Riley's curve has a big drop. The curve gave me confidence. Such a curve is also possible because the fastball is more than 150 kilometers per hour. Originally, it was a ball that could be judged as a ball, but it went on strike and there were a lot of swing and swing of the crystal ball. The curve is now the second game."
Riley won 11 games in the first half alone, ranking first in multiple wins alongside Hanwha Eagles ace Cody Ponce. Hanwha is the No. 1 team this year, while NC remains in seventh place. The fact that Riley won 11 games while NC was hovering at the bottom can be interpreted as such a good pitch.
Riley went 11-4 with 108 ⅔ innings, 139 strikeouts and a 2.98 ERA in 18 games. Until the 19th, he ranked second in multiple wins, third in strikeouts, and eighth in ERA.
Regarding the possibility of Riley continuing his challenge to win the most games, director Lee said, "Luck is still okay. When Riley throws, the bat bursts."
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Riley says "I do my best for the team every game. It seems that doing the best for the team in any way, whether it's good or bad, is the driving force behind the team's 11 wins in the first half. The aggressive mindset helped. I think it's the starting pitcher's job to find a way to break through not only when it's good but also when it's bad. I think my aggressive mindset helped me find a way even when it was bad. If I win, the team wins. I will do my best to compete for the most wins. Of course, it's not my victory, it's the team's victory that matters."
NC, which has experienced a leak of foreign ace almost every year, wants to accompany Riley as long as possible. Still, coach Lee believes Riley can someday challenge the major leagues using his success in Korea.
Manager Lee said, `I think Riley will be competitive in the Major League in the future. If the number of pitches exceeds 80, the ball speed falls. If we supplement that well, wouldn't it be competitive in the Major League. The curve speed of 3,000 rpm or more is one of the best in the Major League."
Riley hasn't thought of Major League Baseball yet. Now that I've decided to challenge Korea, I'm only focusing on performing well in the KBO League. After about four months of playing the season, I fell in love with Korean life.
Riley said, `I don't want to look far now, but I want to focus on the KBO league I'm currently playing in. Playing in the KBO is a satisfactory and loving league. I want to do my best in the situation given now. The family is also satisfied with life in Korea."
Another reason is that I fell in love with kimchi. Riley is said to have found out how Gwangju's kimchi tastes while all the matches against Gwangju KIA Tigers were canceled due to rain from the 17th to the 19th.
Riley is "Is it the home of kimchi. I heard that Gwangju Kimchi is famous, so I'm eating it now. There was kimchi that was interviewed about kimchi and recommended by fans, but I haven't tried it yet. I'll make sure to leave a review if I eat it. I eat kimchi every time I eat, and everyone likes Korean barbecue and stews. He especially likes galbitang, showing his love for Korean food.
What was the eel that director Lee recommended as a health food.
Director Lee said "I told him to try the eel, but neither of them ate it. 'Are you really energized?' So I told her to eat it because it's really strong, but Riley said she'd try it. Logan will never eat it, he laughed.
Riley said "It's true that the eel was scary. I heard it was good for stamina, so I said I would eat it and ate it. You already told me before the meal that you like eel. I had no choice but to eat eel because it was the second suggestion," he replied, drawing laughter.
Reflecting on the past four months spent in Korea, Riley said, `I think Korea is a good opportunity for me. I came to Korea because I thought it was an opportunity to show my faith in myself. KBO is an interesting and fun league. I think it's a great league because it's fun when I see fans' cheering culture"I expected to be with NC for a long time.
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
