“Breathing is important” Go Woo-seok’s soft landing keyword, pitch clock

Pitch clock. This is a key keyword that will determine whether Go Woo-seok (26, San Diego Padres) has a soft landing in the U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB).

MLB introduced the pitch clock last year. Pitchers had to finish pitching within 15 seconds if there were no runners, and within 20 seconds if there were runners. The batter had to come to the plate 8 seconds before the end of the pitch clock. If the pitcher violates the rule, one ball is automatically called, and if the batter violates the rule, one strike is automatically called. MLB achieved its primary goal of 'speeding up' by reducing the game time by 24 minutes (3 hours 4 minutes → 2 hours 40 minutes). However, the pitching and hitting times were artificially adjusted, which had a significant impact on performance.

In particular, pitchers with long pitching tempos were hit directly. A representative player is Alex Bethea (LA Dodgers). Bethea, a key left-handed bullpen member of the Dodgers, showed surprising performance in 2022 (63 games, ERA 2.15). However, last year's performance (56 games, ERA 4.35) when the pitch clock was applied deteriorated significantly. After the opening, he had difficulty adjusting to the extent that his ERA reached 7.58 until June. In 2022, Bethea finished pitching in 24.5 seconds with no runners on base and 27.5 seconds with runners on base.

He, who had to drastically shorten his pitching time due to the pitch clock, expressed his difficulties, saying, "It wasn't good. I felt like I was really rushed (on the mound)." In addition, bullpen pitchers such as Andrew Belatti (Philadelphia Phillies), AJ Minter (Atlanta Braves), and Kyle Finnegan (Washington Nationals) also had a hard time adjusting to the pitch clock.

Go Woo-seok, who signed with San Diego on the 4th, entered the United States without any pitch clock experience. The KBO League plans to introduce a pitch clock starting in 2024, which was different from Go Woo-seok's move. Compared to local pitchers who have been practicing the pitch clock since the minor leagues, he is bound to have difficulty adapting. LG pitching coach Kim Gyeong-tae, who coached Go Woo-seok, said, "Bullpen pitchers are very nervous because they are playing an inning (at an important moment). Breathing is important, but if breathing becomes fast (due to the pitch clock), the pitching balance can become irregular." “The pitching speed is not slow, but it is not fast either.”

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