The envious and crazy players are waiting for the pinch runner, but the three pitchers are eating PS. It's hard to even gauge the level difference

Oct 20, 2025

The envious and crazy players are waiting for the pinch runner, but the three pitchers are eating PS. It's hard to even gauge the level difference



The envious and crazy players are waiting for the pinch runner, but the three pitchers are eating PS. It's hard to even gauge the level difference
I dare not even compare. It's a cold reality. The level of Korean and Japanese baseball has widened beyond measure.

In particular, the ransom, skills, and influence of players in the Major League are literally the difference between heaven and earth. This postseason is clearly showing. There is only one player from Korea, Kim Hye-sung (LA Dodgers), but he is only guarding the bench as a backup agent.

On the other hand, Japanese players are in the spotlight that shines the most on the autumn stage. LA Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Rocky Sasaki put the team on the World Series stage with overwhelming performances. Thanks to their strong performance, the Los Angeles Dodgers are aiming for their second consecutive World Series title.




Each performance looks like the main character in 'Baseball Cartoon'. Ohtani, who is like the 'oldest brother' 'God of baseball came to earth' is being evaluated. This is due to his better-than-expected performance over the pitching.

Ohtani started Game 4 of the National League Championship Series (NLCS) against the Milwaukee Brewers on the 18th and recorded two hits and 10 strikeouts in six innings.

This itself is a surprising quality, but Ohtani also showed incredible performance at the plate. He hit as many as three home runs alone on this day. He led his team to victory alone with three hits in three at-bats (three home runs), three RBIs and one walk. Ohtani made his name in history as the first starting pitcher to hit multiple home runs in Major League Baseball postseason history. I did something that seemed impossible in reality.




The envious and crazy players are waiting for the pinch runner, but the three pitchers are eating PS. It's hard to even gauge the level difference
Yamamoto is also playing as the number one pitcher in Major League history. Yamamoto is 2-1 with a 1.83 ERA (19 ⅔ innings, four earned runs) in three postseason games this year. The Highlights were the second NLCS game against Milwaukee on the 15th. At that time, Yamamoto allowed only three hits (including one home run) in nine innings and achieved a complete victory with seven strikeouts. It was the first postseason complete game by a Dodgers pitcher in 21 years since Jose Lima in 2004.

Sasaki's performance, which is considered to have shown the most groundbreaking evolution on the stage this fall, is also remarkable.

The envious and crazy players are waiting for the pinch runner, but the three pitchers are eating PS. It's hard to even gauge the level difference
Sasaki was recruited by the Dodgers last winter after fierce posting competition. However, he left only disappointment with his performance that fell short of expectations after the opening of the season. He lost 1-1 and had a 4.72 ERA in eight games until May, and spent more than four months rehabilitating due to a shoulder injury. At one point, there was also a prospect of 'Season Out'. It almost remained an example of the Dodgers' failed recruitment of posting.




However, Sasaki returned to the big league stage again in September. After shaking off his shoulder injury, Sasaki recovered his restraint. And manager Dave Roberts assigned Sasaki to the bullpen mission, not the previous starter.

This acted as a `God's move.' Sasaki, who turned into a bullpen pitcher, joined the postseason entry after continuing his good pitching as if he were wearing clothes that fit his body.

With a fastball of up to 101 miles (about 163 kilometers) and a splitter with a sharp trajectory, Sasaki served as the team's closer in the postseason and turned the opposing batters like a fall leaf. In this postseason, he played in seven games, making three saves with one hold and a 1.13 ERA (one earned run in eight innings). Sasaki's awakening erased the bullpen's problems, which were pointed out as the Dodgers' only weaknesses.

The Athletic, a global sports media outlet, said on the 18th (Korea time) that Sasaki's performance is 'Juss introduced it as an example of how he turned his previous disappointment into postseason dominance. It is said that the discovery of an unexpected closing pitcher gave the Dodgers the driving force to succeed.

The envious and crazy players are waiting for the pinch runner, but the three pitchers are eating PS. It's hard to even gauge the level difference
This media was not a gift to the Dodgers early in the season. The Dodgers solved the Sasaki problem after adjusting several things by dealing with shoulder treatment and pitching form, and solved other problems (bulpen). Sasaki finally showed a great performance at the end.

Ohtani, Yamamoto and Sasaki's strong performances are compared to the poor performance of Korean players. Kim Hye-sung is the only Korean player who advanced to the postseason this year. However, the role is extremely small. So far, he has only come out once as a pinch runner in nine postseason games. I'm working hard to play the role of a cheering squad. It may not make it to the World Series entry.

The envious and crazy players are waiting for the pinch runner, but the three pitchers are eating PS. It's hard to even gauge the level difference
Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco) and Kim Ha-sung (Atlanta) failed to go to the postseason due to their team's poor performance. However, it cannot be said that he showed particularly impressive performance in the regular season. Lee Jung-hoo only hit 0.266 (149 hits in 560 at-bats) in 150 games. Kim Ha-sung returned in July after a long rehabilitation, but he also hit 0.234 (40 hits in 171 at-bats). It is only insignificant compared to the performance of the Dodgers' three Japanese pitchers.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.