Foreign ace's surprise bullpen appearance behind the scenes. Why not go to fall baseball?

Sep 02, 2025

Foreign ace's surprise bullpen appearance behind the scenes. Why not go to fall baseball?
A game between KT and KIA at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 31st. 1st and 3rd base with 2 outs in the 6th inning. KT Heyesus is cheering after Kim Tae-gun's strikeout. Suwon = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.08.31/



"If we do well and go up to the postseason..."

KT Wiz survived a game against the KIA Tigers at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 31st of last month. KT, whose every game is the final to advance to the fifth round, threw a surprise game to put ace Heyesus into the bullpen. In the 4-3 lead, Heyesus succeeded by blocking one inning with three strikeouts in the sixth inning, but the bullpen collapsed in the eighth inning and allowed three runs, seemingly suffering a shock upset. However, in the bottom of the ninth inning, the batters destroyed the opponent's closer Jung Hae-young and turned around again and cheered.

Coach Lee Kang-chul, who met ahead of the NC Dinos match on the 2nd, said, `It was a really big victory. The third- and fifth-place teams all won. If we were the only ones who lost, we would have fallen down." He did not deny that victory that day served as a booster for the five-way race. In fact, KT, ranked 6th, is only a half game away from the 3rd to 5th teams without a ride. If they lost that day, they could have been grouped with NC and KIA Tigers under them ahead of the additional schedule in September.




Foreign ace's surprise bullpen appearance behind the scenes. Why not go to fall baseball?
KT-Lotte match held at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 28th. 1st base with no outs in the bottom of the 6th inning. At Reyes' at-bat, the umpire declared a balk for Heyesus. Coach Lee Kang-chul is encouraging Heyesus. Busan = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.8.28/
Then, was the Heysus bullpen card Lee's decision. Director Lee said "That's not right. Heysus volunteered. It's a day when he's going to pitch on the side ahead of his start, and he volunteered to play instead. Did you want to appeal because you had to renew your contract?" he said with a chuckle. He then seriously explained, "I think he knew there were many left-handed hitters in the opponent and intended to help the team."

Director Lee also made a surprise announcement. In September, when the remaining schedule is held, the game is sparse, so there can be more cases where starting pitchers are put into the bullpen like this. And more importantly, the postseason. Manager Lee said, `If we do well and go to the postseason, I think we can use the Heyesus bullpen card if we have to go up from the bottom. First of all, the ball has power. So I was thinking of using Patrick in the middle, and Heysus seems to be fine as well."

Foreign ace's surprise bullpen appearance behind the scenes. Why not go to fall baseball?
KT won the game between KT and Doosan 6-2 at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 23rd. Manager Lee Kang-chul greets Patrick who became a winning pitcher. Jamsil= Reporter Huh Sang-wook wook@sportschosun.com/2025.08.23/
Use the ace as a bullpen in fall baseball? It is because happiness and worry coexist. First of all, KT has a lot of native starters such as Ko Young-pyo, Oh Won-seok, and So Hyung-joon, in addition to the two foreign pitchers. On the contrary, thinking about turning foreign players to the bullpen means that there is a lack of bullpen to trust in the second half of the game. Son Dong-hyun's ball power dropped sharply just by looking at the KIA match, and Park Young-hyun made a blon save. 'Bulpen Kingdom' fame is cracking this year.




However, no matter how good they are in the bullpen, it is best for a capable pitcher to start and prevent six to seven innings. We'll have to go then and see if Lee really turns Heyesus into a bullpen in the postseason. First of all, the important thing is whether or not you can go to autumn baseball.








This article was translated by Naver AI translator.