NC foreign pitcher Eric Peddie, 30, who spent a full season as a five-starter in the major leagues last year, is destroying the KBO ecosystem. It’s like an adult has come to a place where children play.
Pedi pitched six innings of five-hit ball with two walks and nine strikeouts against Changwon Hanwha on April 26, leading NC to an 11-0 victory. In 10 appearances this season, he has pitched 61 1/3 innings, posting an 8-1 record with a 1.47 ERA, 80 strikeouts, and a 1.01 WHIP.
She ranks first in wins and ERA, second in strikeouts, and third in innings pitched and WHIP. He is one strikeout away from becoming the first foreign pitcher to win the “Triple Crown” of wins, ERA, and strikeouts, trailing only Ahn Woo-jin (81).
He dominates hitters with an average 148.2-kilometer two-seam fastball and four other pitches, including a sweeper, changeup, and cutter. Not only does he have a 32.3% strikeout rate, but he also leads the league with a 2.23 ground ball-to-fly ball ratio.
From the time he signed with the NC in December for the KBO’s new foreign player cap of $1 million, there were questions about why he came to Korea. Pedi, who spent six years in the big leagues after making his debut in Washington in 2017, has recently spent two consecutive seasons as a full-time starter.
Last year, he started all 27 games (127 innings) for the Nats, who finished last in the majors, but went 6-13 with a 5.81 ERA and was released as a free agent after the season. He could have stayed in the U.S., but instead, he boarded a plane to South Korea. At a time when he needed to turn his career around, he signed with NC, the first team to contact him.
In February, during Arizona’s spring training, Peddie revealed why he came to Korea. At the time, he said, “I became a free agent for the first time in my baseball career. I thought I could experience a new baseball in Korea and take on many challenges. Later, when my baseball career is over, I’ll be able to talk about it more,” he said, adding that he received recommendations from players who had experienced Korea first.
One of them was Nick Kingham, 32, a right-handed pitcher who played for SK (now SSG) in 2020 and Hanwha in 2021 and 2022. “Training with Kingham in the offseason helped me make the decision to go to Korea,” says Peddie. He told me a lot about the advantages and good things about going to Korea. He told me that they have a personal interpreter and that the support for players is good.”
Kingham was a “glass house” player who was released by both SK and Hanwha due to injury. But he proved to be a good pitcher when healthy, going 10-8 with a 3.19 ERA in 25 games (144 innings) in 2021, and in March of last year, his wife gave birth to a son in South Korea. At the time, Kingham said, “The maternity care in Korea is fantastic. The facilities are great, and if you need anything, they’re right there. It was a great decision to give birth in Korea,” he said.먹튀검증
Kingham’s fondness for Korea helped solidify Peddie’s decision, even though her body didn’t support her for long. Kingham, who was released by Hanwha in June last year due to a brachial muscle injury, is currently in Taiwan. On June 5, he signed a contract with the Taiwan Professional Baseball Zhongxin Bridger to continue his career in Asia. Since arriving in Taiwan on July 7, he has pitched in two games for the second team, allowing four runs (three earned) in seven innings, and is preparing to make his first-team debut.
Kingham’s recommendation to move to Korea has been a major turning point in his baseball career. The development and improvement of his pitches, including his sweeper and changeup, has made him a completely different pitcher than he was in Washington last year. The possibility of a major league turnaround has already been raised. Asian scouts are checking in on him. “I’m getting a lot of questions about it, but it’s in the future. I hope so, but right now I’m just thinking about pitching the next game. I’m going to focus on the NC.”