Kiwoom Heroes’ Ahn Woo-jin may be out for the season. Kiwoom head coach Hong Won-ki revealed that the team is considering whether or not to force Ahn to finish the season due to arm fatigue from throwing a lot last year.
Ahn pitched 196 innings in 30 games in the regular season last year, 12 innings in two semifinals, six innings in one playoff game, and 8⅔ innings in two games in the Korean Series. In total, he pitched 222⅔ innings.
He also pitched 150⅔ innings in 24 games this season.
Kiwoom has little chance of making the postseason this season. There’s no need for Ahn to overextend himself.
However, if Ahn does indeed end her season early, it will create a variable in the individual title race. Ahn leads the league in strikeouts with 164 through the first day, and her 2.39 ERA ranks second in that category. If she ends her season early, she could lose the top spot, especially when it comes to strikeouts, which are ranked by number.
Second in strikeouts is NC Dinos Eric Peddy, who leads the league in wins with 16. With 149, he trails Ahn Woo-jin by 15. In third place is Raul Alcantara of the Doosan Bears with 135. Alcantara leads the league with a 2.25 ERA.
Pedi has a shot at the pitching triple crown. Peddy leads the league in wins and is third in ERA at 2.39. On the 31st of this month, he had a shocking outing against KIA, giving up 7 runs on 8 hits in 3 innings, and his ERA jumped from 1.97 to 2.39, dropping him to 3rd place.
However, if she continues to pitch like she has in the past, she may be able to lower her ERA again. If Ahn Woo-jin doesn’t finish the season, he could become the strikeout king.
If he manages to secure the top spot in wins, ERA, and strikeouts, he will make history as the first foreign pitcher to achieve the Triple Crown.
In the KBO, the pitcher’s triple crown was first won in 1986 by former national team manager Sun Dong-yeol with the Hattae Tigers, and then won four times in a row in 1989, 1990, and 1991, with Ryu Hyun-jin, a high school rookie with the Hanwha Eagles, becoming the first rookie to do so in 2006. He was followed by Yoon Seok-min of the KIA Tigers in 2011, who won all four titles plus the win percentage title.토토사이트
If Pedi achieves the feat, he will become the fourth player to do so after Sun Dong-yeol, Ryu Hyun-jin and Yoon Seok-min. He would be the seventh on record.
Of the six times a pitcher has won the Triple Crown, the only time he didn’t win the regular season MVP was in 1991. At the time, Jang Jong-hoon of the Binggrae Eagles set the all-time single-season home run record with 35, surpassing Sun Dong-yeol, who had won the Triple Crown three years in a row.
However, if Pedi takes home the Triple Crown this season, he will most likely take home the MVP award as well. On the batting side, Hanwha’s Noh Si-hwan, who leads the league in home runs, RBIs, and on-base percentage, is a strong contender, but there’s no guarantee he’ll be able to hold onto the top three spots at the Asian Games.
The batting title is likely to be shared by several players, so if Pedi wins the triple crown, there will be no one to challenge him.
Will Ahn Woo-jin finish the season or call it quits early, which could change the title picture and affect the MVP.