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| photo courtesy of Kiwoom Heroes |
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| photo courtesy of Kiwoom Heroes |
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Kiwoom Heroes' new foreign pitcher Christopher Mercedes (31) successfully completed his first KBO League appearance.
Mercedes started against the Doosan Bears in the 2025 KBO League at Gocheok Sky Dome on the 9th. Mercedes threw 95 pitches and allowed two runs in five ⅓ innings. He was replaced with a winning pitcher requirement with one out and runners on first and second bases in the top of the sixth inning with a 3-2 lead. The team suffered a come-from-behind loss of 4-6 and withdrew without winning or losing.
Kiwoom's acting coach Seol Jong-jin expressed satisfaction overall. Acting coach Seol Jong-jin said, `I think it was nice pitching. I think they did as much as I expected. I liked the fact that he ran aggressively on the mound."
Mercedes was not a fastball pitcher who pushed a batter. There was a lot of ground ball induction based on a certain ball control. He showed a maximum speed of 146 kilometers and an average speed of 142 kilometers. While actively using sliders and curves, he also mixed changeups and sinkers. It boasted a variety of rappers.
Mercedes "First of all, I threw it while I was in such good shape. The first game was a lot of fun. Win or lose can happen at any time in baseball. The most important thing is that the team plays together. Victory can be achieved next time. I don't care at all."
Acting President Seol Jong-jin expected Mercedes to adapt well. He pitched without much trouble, although it's hard to judge by one game. However, Mercedes has a fast tempo, so the opposing batters kept calling the time and hung up. He explained, "I don't think there was a slight contraction there, but I said I don't have to pay attention."
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| photo courtesy of Kiwoom Heroes |
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| photo courtesy of Kiwoom Heroes |
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| photo courtesy of Kiwoom Heroes |
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Kiwoom released Kenny Rosenberg on the 30th of last month and signed with Mercedes. Born in the Dominican Republic, he played in the Taiwanese professional baseball league this year after playing in the U.S. Minor League and Japanese professional baseball. He spent seven seasons with the Yomiuri Giants of Japan and the Chiba Lotte Marines, and is accustomed to Asian baseball. Kiwoom spent a total of 280,000 dollars (about 390 million won).
The KBO League was also not very unfamiliar. Mercedes is different from Japan's Taiwan, but not big enough to affect the game. The ABS zone was also not enough to affect my performance. I'm going to adapt and learn from this experience."
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
