Why did this kind of pitcher play for KIA? Lee Jung-hoo stopped him and won his 41st big league victory

Jul 20, 2025

Why did this kind of pitcher play for KIA? Lee Jung-hoo stopped him and won his 41st big league victory
Toronto Blue Jays Eric Lauer. AP Yonhap News



Eric Lauer, who didn't show an impressive performance in the KBO League last year. After returning to the Major League, he has a better pace.

Lauer, a pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays, started the home game against the San Francisco Giants at Rogers Center in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on the 20th (Korea time) and became the winning pitcher by pitching two hits, seven strikeouts and two runs in six innings.

The team Lauer faced is Lee Jung-hoo's San Francisco. Lee Jung-hoo, who started as the seventh batter and center fielder, stepped down against Lauer on the same day, recording a straight hit to shortstop and a ground ball to first base at his second at-bat. With the team's overall lineup stagnant, Lee Jung-hoo was also caught as a ground ball to shortstop in the third at-bat in the eighth inning after Lauer went down the mound, and San Francisco suffered a 3-6 upset. Lee Jung-hoo, who was silent with no hits in three times at bat, saw his batting average fall further to 247 for the season.




Lauer was responsible for six innings and effectively blocked San Francisco's batters with two runs. It is already his fifth win (two losses) this season.

Why did this kind of pitcher play for KIA? Lee Jung-hoo stopped him and won his 41st big league victory
After this. AP Yonhap News
In the second half of last year, Lauer played in the KBO League wearing the KIA Tigers uniform. KIA, which was using a foreign pitcher as Cam Aldred after Will Crow's injury at the beginning of the season, confirmed the recruitment of Lauer, a completely new pitcher, instead of Aldred.

It was a huge topic at the time of his contract with KIA. First of all, the big league career is pretty solid. He began to gain experience as a full-time starting pitcher in the big league from the 2018 season, and continued his career in the big league until the 2023 season. In the 2024 season, when he signed with KIA, his pace was not very good as he signed minor contracts with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros, and KIA, which had been paying attention to Lauer early, confirmed its recruitment as a substitute.




However, his first season in the KBO League fell short of expectations. Lauer was somewhat struggling with a 2-2 record and 4.93 ERA in seven regular-season games. However, he was lucky to wear the winning ring at KIA, which won the Korean Series after winning the regular season last year. Lauer started in one game of the Korean Series and became a losing pitcher with two runs in five innings, but the team won the final championship.

Why did this kind of pitcher play for KIA? Lee Jung-hoo stopped him and won his 41st big league victory
UPIYonhap News
Unfortunately, he failed to renew his contract with KIA. KIA, which re-signed James Nail, signed Adam Oler instead of Lauer. Lauer, who has not shown an impact in the KBO League due to a lack of crystal balls and short adaptation time, headed to the U.S. again by signing a minor contract with Toronto.

The opportunity came sooner than I thought. Lauer, who was called up to the big league at the end of April, has been playing as a long relief and substitute starter at the beginning of the season and has gained a chance to start the last seven consecutive games, establishing his position in the team. Lauer, who played the most innings of the season by pitching two runs in six innings against the Los Angeles Angels on the 5th, showed his presence by pitching two runs in six innings again against San Francisco. We've already won five games. It was his fourth big league victory (39 losses).








This article was translated by Naver AI translator.