50 wins in total! The secret to winning nine games? Wife's Cheering. He's 33 years old…Alcantara's Pride Becomes a KBO Veteran

Aug 01, 2025

50 wins in total! The secret to winning nine games? Wife's Cheering. He's 33 years old…Alcantara's Pride Becomes a KBO Veteran
Kiwoom Alcantara for the interview. Reporter Kim Young-rok



50 wins in total! The secret to winning nine games? Wife's Cheering. He's 33 years old…Alcantara's Pride Becomes a KBO Veteran
Photo provided by Kium Heroes
"We achieved 50 wins today. I feel very good."

Raul Alcantara, 33, had a bright smile on his face. It was as stormy as it was in its peak season in 2020.

Alcantara won his fourth victory of the season with a perfect pitching of eight scoreless innings (106 pitches) in Game 1 of the weekend series against the Lotte Giants at Gocheok Sky Dome on the 1st.




He allowed only four hits and one walk, and blocked Lotte's batters dryly all the time. Except for the second inning, when there was a bases-loaded crisis with two outs, there was no serious crisis. Five strikeouts are a bonus.

It's been seven years since I first came to Korea and five seasons since I've been living in Korea. He recorded 11 wins and 11 losses with a 4.01 ERA in KT Wiz in 2019, and spent his best year in his career with the Doosan Bears the following year with a 2.54 ERA in 20 wins and 2 losses and 198 ⅔ innings. Unfortunately, he missed the MVP behind KT Mel Rojas Jr.

50 wins in total! The secret to winning nine games? Wife's Cheering. He's 33 years old…Alcantara's Pride Becomes a KBO Veteran
Photo provided by Kium Heroes
In 2023, when he returned to Doosan, he also had a good performance of 13 wins, 9 losses and 2.67 in 192 innings, but was kicked out last year after a disappointing performance.




However, he returned to Korea after receiving a love call from Kiwoom, who was looking for a pitcher to fill the hole in the starting lineup this year. On this day, it was as good as it was in its heyday. Kiwoom's acting head coach Seol Jong-jin even praised him saying, `It was an ace-down eight perfect innings.'

Alcantara set the meaning of the match at 'Tongsan 50 wins'. He said "It was too bad for the previous two games with 50 wins left. Last night, I got my wife's support, so I thought, 'I'll be able to get a good result' was convinced, and thus he achieved 50 wins. I had a good feeling even before the game."

He pitched 93 pitches through the seventh inning. However, he took the mound in the eighth inning without hesitation, and promptly turned Lotte batters around. He said "The coach asked my opinion, and I just wanted to create a chance for our team to win. I just threw enough in the eighth inning, and I'm glad it led to the victory."




50 wins in total! The secret to winning nine games? Wife's Cheering. He's 33 years old…Alcantara's Pride Becomes a KBO Veteran
Photo provided by Kium Heroes
The two matches in question were away games in Daegu and Changwon. I think Gocheok, which is home, was cool because it was a dome stadium. Alcantara "Heat doesn't seem to be the only reason. I can't do it without the influence`"Dominica is hot, but now the heat in Korea is more approachable to my skin,' he explained.

The team situation is completely different from the KT and Doosan times. The pressure at Kiwoom is beyond imagination. Moreover, on this day, the team had to end its seven consecutive losses.

"It's a little different, but I played as an ace for any team. There is a responsibility to bring good results to the team. I think it's good for the team and good for myself to throw away the pressure. This year, my team is not competing in the fall baseball, but my role remains the same."





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.