Shoulder muscle clumping. Hanwha without Ponce, dizzying just thinking about it → Ponce management emerges as the biggest task for the rest of the season

Jul 25, 2025

Shoulder muscle clumping. Hanwha without Ponce, dizzying just thinking about it → Ponce management emerges as the biggest task for the rest of the season
A game between the Doosan Bears and the Hanwha Eagles at Jamsil Stadium on the 24th. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Hanwha starter Ponce carefully picks the ball just before pitching. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.07.24/



Shoulder muscle clumping. Hanwha without Ponce, dizzying just thinking about it → Ponce management emerges as the biggest task for the rest of the season
A game between the Doosan Bears and the Hanwha Eagles at Jamsil Stadium on the 24th. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Hanwha starter Ponce is talking with referee Park Jong-chul after dealing with Lee Yoo-chan as a mistake. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.07.24/
The phone was not a machine. Ponce's early withdrawal drew great attention. It is hard to imagine Hanwha without Ponce.

Hanwha Eagles foreign ace Cody Ponce started against the Doosan Bears in the 2025 KBO League in Jamsil on the 24th. Ponce pitched no runs until the sixth inning. There were only 70 pitches. However, Park Sang-won, not Ponce, took the mound in the bottom of the seventh inning with a 1-0 lead.

Speculation could have been raised that it was an injury.




In fact, Ponce played in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) from 2022 to 2024 and never filled the regular innings. Ponce threw 137 ⅔ innings in 2017 the most in his career. Ponce came to the KBO League this year and has already pitched 127 ⅔ innings in 20 games. Arithmetically, the pace is 197 innings.

Fortunately, it was not a situation of concern. Hanwha was replaced due to symptoms of right shoulder muscle clumping. There is no impact on the next game.

However, Ponce also reflected on the fact that minimum management is necessary. As of the 25th, Ponce is also ranked first in the number of innings (20 innings) in the starting lineup. He ranks second in the total number of pitches (1973), and third in average number of pitches (98.7) per game. It also confirmed that the gaze of 'injury anxiety' toward Ponce before the season was not at all absurd.




Coincidentally, Hanwha allowed the reversal as soon as Ponce went down that day. If Ponce pitched more than 90 pitches as usual, it would have been possible up to the seventh or eighth inning, but then the result might have been different. In Ponce's game, Hanwha has an absolute winning rate of 16 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses. As such, Ponce has a great proportion of Hanwha.

Shoulder muscle clumping. Hanwha without Ponce, dizzying just thinking about it → Ponce management emerges as the biggest task for the rest of the season
A game between the Doosan Bears and the Hanwha Eagles at Jamsil Stadium on the 24th. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Hanwha starter Ponce roars after hitting Doosan's Yang Seok-hwan to the third base. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.07.24/
Shoulder muscle clumping. Hanwha without Ponce, dizzying just thinking about it → Ponce management emerges as the biggest task for the rest of the season
A game between the Doosan Bears and the Hanwha Eagles at Jamsil Stadium on the 24th. Hanwha starter Ponce roars after the inning in the bottom of the fourth inning. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.07.24/
Therefore, it is difficult to imagine Hanwha without Ponce.

In fact, it is a blessing in itself that the first starter completes the season full-time without skipping a single rotation. It's not for no reason that the injury-free team wins. The rival team LG took the mound only twice in July, saying it would manage Yoni Chirinos.




If even one Ponce is twisted, this does not end with the departure of one Ponce. Six starters must enter the first starting position. There is a high risk that it will lead to a vicious cycle as the inning fire extinguishing power decreases and the bullpen burden increases. In addition, Hanwha's offense is at an average level, so it is highly dependent on the mound.

Hanwha's biggest homework for the rest of the season has emerged as whether it can cruise to the last minute while managing Ponce as much as possible.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.