Eric Peddie, 30, of the NC Dinos, is an ecosystem disruptor in the KBO.
He was selected by the Washington Nationals with the first overall pick in the 2014 Major League Baseball draft and was a full-time starting pitcher until last year. Peddie had one of the best careers among foreign players in the KBO, and his teammates were also outstanding, including Max Scherzer (39, Texas Rangers), who won three Cy Young Awards and struck out 3,365 batters in his career, and Stephen Strasburg (35, retired), the 2019 World Series MVP. He’s bringing their know-how and teachings to the KBO.
“I tried to ask as many questions as I could from Scherzer, Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, and many other seniors in the major leagues, and that’s what I got. I want to give back to them as much as I received from them in Korea, and I try to answer all of my fellow pitchers’ questions sincerely.”
In addition to the young NC pitchers, Pedi’s teachings to the KBO’s representative Young-gun have also reached out to young pitchers in other clubs. In particular, Moon Dong-ju (20), the future of Hanwha and the future of the KBO, wanted to spend time with Pedi, and it was arranged. The meeting between Pedi and Moon took place on August 15-17, ahead of Hanwha’s trip to Changwon. The day before the first game of the series (Aug. 14), the two met at the Changwon home of Moon Dong-joo. A Hanwha scout and an executive from Pedi’s agency organized the meeting between the two players.
Looking back on the meeting, Pedi said, “Moon seemed like a friend with a strong desire to learn baseball. So we arranged a dinner. We talked a lot about baseball,” he explains, “and I shared my know-how with him, hoping that he would become the best at his position and in his field.”
“I think the league will grow and baseball will be more fun if the things I taught him come from Moon Dong-joo, so I shared my know-how with him,” he said, adding that he hoped Moon would become the best ace in the league.
But what surprised him was Moon’s English language skills. “He spoke English so well that it wasn’t a problem to communicate about baseball. I shared as much knowledge as I could about my 10 years of major league baseball, and he asked a lot of questions about pitching.”토토사이트
Moon honed his English in English kindergarten as a child and is known to have no problem communicating with foreign players on the Hanwha team. Pedi was surprised to hear this.
He emphasized to the NC players, “I’m trying to be as honest as possible with what I have rather than keeping my secrets.” Pedi hopes to bring everything he’s learned and experienced to the KBO as he continues to improve. NC pitchers will be his first priority, but he hopes that many Korean pitchers will benefit from his know-how if the opportunity arises. As for upcoming players, he doesn’t turn them away and says he’s always open to discussions about baseball.
Pedi’s ultimate goal is to return to the major leagues, and indeed, there is a lot of interest from major league clubs. But his love for the KBO and Korea is genuine. In a recent interview with The Washington Post, he said, “When I’m old and retired, I’m going to be really glad I played in Korea. It’s going to be really fun to look back on everything.” Just as he does on the mound, Pedi is passionate about Korean baseball and takes it seriously. His English conversation with Moon Dong-joo was one of the best examples of this.