"Ponce ML? I'm still not good enough, I've been in Hanwha for 7 years..." Ryu Hyun-jin's sincerity also conceded the All-Star selection candidate
"Ponce ML? I'm still not good enough, I've been in Hanwha for 7 years..." Ryu Hyun-jin's sincerity also conceded the All-Star selection candidate
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The professional baseball Hanwha Eagles recommended Cody Ponce (31) for the starting pitcher category as a candidate for each of the best 12 fan voting positions in the 2025 KBO All-Star Game announced on the 2nd. Ryu Hyun-jin (38), who was selected as the Nanum All-Star starting pitcher last year, gave Ponce the nomination.온라인카지노
No player has contributed more than Ryu so far, but Ponce is the ace of the Hanwha Eagles at least this year. Ponce, who received high expectations to be selected as the starting pitcher for the opening game, is pitching well with a 0.87 batting average of 105 WHIPs with eight wins, no loss, and no loss in 12 games (79 innings).
He ranks first in ERA, strikeouts, innings, WHIP, hit rate, and multiple wins, topping almost all other categories of pitchers' indicators. After being named the monthly MVP from March to April, he was also listed as a candidate in May. In the 12 games that Ponce played, Hanwha won 10 games to 2 (winning rate .833), and is ranking second with eight consecutive wins and 12 consecutive wins.
The best moment was in the first game of a doubleheader against the Daejeon SSG on April 17. At that time, he won eight innings with two hits, one walk, and 18 strikeouts, setting a tie for the most strikeouts in a single game in the KBO League. He threw changeups (24), sliders (21), and curves (15), with a maximum speed of 157 kilometers per hour and an average of 154 kilometers per hour at the center, and held a parade of 18 strikeouts.
Based on the nine-inning regular innings, Ryu broke his own record of 17 in 2010. Although he broke his 15-year-old record, Ryu was delighted as if it had happened to him. He might have felt sorry for it, but he said, "I wasn't disappointed at all. I really liked it. It would have been a little different if it were a different team player, but it was great because my team player broke my record in front of my record."
When Ponce said he would challenge Ryu's record of 17 strikeouts early in the season, he thought it would not be easy. "I thought it would not be easy in today's world. I thought it would not be as easy as it was then as the starters do not take 120 to 130 pitches, but they did it so easily. Amazing. The ball was so good to see from the sidelines." Ryu Hyun-jin threw 124 pitches in nine innings against Cheongju LG on May 11, 2010, but Ponce made 113 pitches in eight innings.
As Ponce is so good, fans of the Hanwha Eagles are already worried about whether he will return to the Major League. It would be no surprise if Ponce throws the ball in the U.S. next year, as reverse exporting pitchers such as Merrill Kelly (Arizona Diamondbacks) and Eric Peddy (St. Louis Cardinals) are active in the Major League.
However, with 78 wins in 10 seasons in the Major League, Ryu Hyun-jin, who is the starting pitcher of the All-Star Game, the No. 1 ERA, and the two-time Cy Young Stadium, shook his head at the possibility of Ponce's return to the big leagues. "I still have a lot to improve. I have a lot to improve. He needs to stay with us," he said, jokingly. "I hope he can play in the Hanwha Eagles for seven years like me." Ryu played for the Hanwha Eagles for seven years from 2006 to 2012, qualified for overseas expansion, and then advanced to the Major League through posting.
Ponce, who is still 31 years old and young, also hopes to return to the Major League someday. However, not right now. Ponce said, "I think there is a reason why I came to Korea. When I was in Triple-A, a colleague named Andrew Searcher gave me advice that I should do my best in the present no matter what league I play in. I am currently playing as a KBO League player, and I am satisfied with that."
Ponce respects the KBO League and has shown his extraordinary affection for Ryu in particular. At the match against Changwon NC Dinos on March 31, he received an autograph from Ryu as soon as he received the Toronto Blue Jays jersey from a fan and cheered for him. "Thank you. Ponce seems to have made our starting pitchers stronger," Ryu said.