Why can't you hit a 140km ball? Oh Seok-ju, an unknown man, how did you transform into a magical untouchable

Sep 18, 2025

Why can't you hit a 140km ball? Oh Seok-ju, an unknown man, how did you transform into a magical untouchable
A game between the Doosan Bears and the Kiwoom Heroes at Jamsil Stadium on the 16th. Kiwoom Oh Suk-joo, who prevented a run crisis in the bottom of the eighth inning, roars. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.09.16/



No, why can't you even touch a 140km normal ball.

If you pick the hottest player in the KBO League recently, the names of several star players will go up and down, but there is an ambush that you can pick without hesitation. It is Kiwoom Heroes pitcher Oh Seok-joo.

An unfamiliar name that you may not know who it is unless you are a Kiwoom fan or a fan who watches baseball every day. After graduating from Jego High School in 2017, he was nominated by the LG Twins and joined the professional league. He wore a Kiwoom uniform through the second draft ahead of last season after living unknown at LG. Although he was once attracting attention as a starting candidate last year, he left only a harrowing record of 11.12 ERA in 17 games.




However, it is no exaggeration to say that he is the best player in the league in his recent momentum. If you keep going at this pace, it is a tremendous move that even the MVP of September can aim for.

Why can't you hit a 140km ball? Oh Seok-ju, an unknown man, how did you transform into a magical untouchable
A match between the Kiwoom Heroes and the Hanwha Eagles at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 27th. Oh Seok-joo is fighting hard. Gocheok = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.08.27/
Oh Seok-joo pitched ⅔ scoreless innings in the eighth inning against the Doosan Bears on the 17th. Yoon Seok-won struck out Park Ji-hoon and gave up a walk to pinch hitter Kim In-tae, but Ahn Jae-seok was dealt with as an infield grounder. Hold for the fourth consecutive game and the seventh hold of the season.

What's tremendous is that the pitch on the day continued the record of losing 18 consecutive games. I became a completely different person in July. He did not give up a single run in 18 games and 21 innings. For reference, the record of consecutive scoreless games is 38 games recorded by Lim Hyun-joon of the Samsung Lions from the 2020 season to the 2021 season.




But it's not a huge ball to the naked eye. Like Oh Seung-hwan (Samsung) and Kim Taek-yeon (Doosan) in their heyday, they are not "straightforward" that they know but can't. In fact, Ryu threw a fastball of 142 kilometers at the Doosan Bears' maximum speed on Wednesday. He throws an average of 140 kilometers. Even this is said to be a slight rise in restraint. However, the breaking ball is not at the level of 'eight colors'. Throw only two curves and splitters. But even the batters who call themselves naro can't move. What secrets are hidden.

Why can't you hit a 140km ball? Oh Seok-ju, an unknown man, how did you transform into a magical untouchable
A game between the Doosan Bears and the Kiwoom Heroes at Jamsil Stadium on the 16th. Kiwoom Oh Seok-joo is pitching hard. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.09.16/
First, we heard about Kiwoom's team. A Kiwoom official said "The quality of the curve has changed", he commented in general. The official said "The main weapon is a curve, but before, we were in a hurry to put it in the zone. Now, he throws a ball that induces swings and misses freely. The curve used to be high and hit, but now it is used well as a manned port. As the curve improves, the fastball and splitter are also cases that add power. Originally, the curveball was a good pitcher, and he had a good sense of throwing the ball. He explained, "I recently found my own pitching rhythm and the results are good, so I think I gained confidence."

Why can't you hit a 140km ball? Oh Seok-ju, an unknown man, how did you transform into a magical untouchable
A game between the Doosan Bears and the Kiwoom Heroes at Jamsil Stadium on the 17th. Kiwoom Oh Seok-joo is pitching hard. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.09.17/
If you only ask Kiwoom, you can feel like your own team's player 'self-promotion'. So I also asked Team A, who recently faced Oh Seok-joo. Why can't you do it. An official from club A also pointed a curve. The official said "The curve is not falling fast, but the number of rotations is huge and the fall is large. Batters facing Oh Seok-joo carry a curve in their head, and considering that curve, the power of the fastball doubles. Even if it's a 140km fastball, it'll look much faster to the batter's eyes."




There is also data. The average revolution per minute (RPM) of Oh Seok-ju's curve reaches 2,900 units. He ranked second among right-handed pitchers who threw 150 or more curves this season after Samsung's Lee Seung-hyun (3024 RPM). He is the highest in RPM in the league. It was no coincidence that Oh Seok-joo was good at it. There was a reason for everything.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.