Don't warm up Hanwha's cool-headed decision prevented a catastrophic crisis that almost blew the Ponce card

Oct 17, 2025

Don't warm up Hanwha's cool-headed decision prevented a catastrophic crisis that almost blew the Ponce card
The first PO match between Samsung and Hanwha at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 17th. Hanwha starter Ponce is warming up. Daejeon = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.10.17/



Fortunately, Hanwha's cool-headed decision.

The first playoff game between the Hanwha Eagles and the Samsung Lions, which was scheduled to be held at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 17th, was canceled due to rain.

In Daejeon, where the match between the two teams was scheduled to be held, the rain became thick about an hour before the start of the match, and it was impossible to play because the rain did not become thinner. Eventually, the decision to cancel was made, and the first game was held at 2 p.m. on the 18th.




When it rains just before the game, a lot of things become uncomfortable. In particular, starting pitchers are the worst. If there is a delay when the body is warmed up for the game, the sweat will all cool down. If canceled, you may not be able to participate in the next day's game due to the aftermath of the prepared routine. It is the worst case scenario for a team that became a no-game in the early stages of the game, or even if it is suspended, it has an ace-class pitcher.

Don't warm up Hanwha's cool-headed decision prevented a catastrophic crisis that almost blew the Ponce card
The first PO match between Samsung and Hanwha at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 17th. Hanwha starter Ponce is warming up. Daejeon = Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.10.17/
In the case of Ponce, there are cases where he has not been able to play the next game due to the cancellation of rain after warming up all his body during this regular season. It drew attention because it was an important game against the LG Twins in the top-ranked game. Hanwha put Jung Woo-joo as a temporary starter instead of Ponce at the time, but he took a breather by winning the game with Jung Woo-joo's good pitching.

Usually, starting pitchers start warming up about an hour before the game. If Ponce had finished the warm-up normally and the game was canceled, something unimaginable would have happened to Hanwha.




The good thing is that Ponce hasn't warmed up. I only walked for a while in the outfield, but I didn't throw the ball at full strength. An official from Hanwha said "The rain got thicker from around 5:30 p.m. There was a forecast, and by combining various situations, we decided that Ponce would not warm up." In fact, this was also an adventure. Then, if the rain became thinner and the game was held, he could have been in a situation where he could not warm up properly. Of course, if the delay was held, there would be time to prepare in the meantime, but the routine could be shaken from a sensitive pitcher's point of view.

In any case, Hanwha's decision was completed with a trick to take out the Ponce card in the first game again.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.