Monthly Archive 3 August 2023

One of the most talked-about topics in the KBO this season, the “3-foot controversy,” has not subsided.

In the game against Jamsil Kiwoom-LG on the 3rd, LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop was ejected after protesting against a ‘3-foot violation’ after a video review during an attack in the 5th inning. Protesting the video review was the first reason for the ejection.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, with LG trailing 1-4, Park Dong-won hit a surprise bunt toward third base with no outs. Kiwoom third baseman Kim Tae-jin caught the ball closer to third base than home and threw to first base, but the ball fell to the ground as Park made contact with Kiwoom first baseman Lee Won-seok’s mitt. As Lee stretched out his left hand to catch the pitch, which was slightly skewed toward home, his mitt made contact with Park’s body.안전놀이터

With runners on first and third, the Kiwoom bench requested a video review, which overturned the call for defensive interference. Park Dong-won was called out and Moon Bo-kyung, who had advanced to third, returned to first base.

The problem was mainly Park’s. Park appeared to be running with his left foot inside the line and his right foot on the line. He stepped on the base with his right foot. Kiwoom’s throw was close to the third base side, so if the throw was accurate, the “three feet” would have been irrelevant. However, the throw was oddly directed to where the first baseman’s throw and the running runner overlapped, causing the collision.

The KBO Umpires Committee appears to have enforced a stricter rule, as announced at the start of the second half. Against the backdrop of the controversy surrounding the 3-foot fielding obstruction in the first half of the season, the KBO announced in the second half of the season that if the umpire determines that a runner’s running inside the 3-foot line is clearly causing a throwing or catching obstruction, it will be ruled as fielding obstruction.

However, this does not appear to have been fully shared among the field staffs of the respective clubs. It was also the reason why Yeom protested so strongly and was ejected.

According to the ruling, if the runner’s foot is inside the line when the first baseman makes contact with the runner during the pitching process, it is a “3-foot violation” of defensive interference. It is likely that the runner’s baserunning will be significantly restricted in the future.

Ryu Hyun-jin, 36, of Toronto, has been successful in the majors despite not having the fastest velocity in the game because of his changeup, which is a “plus, plus” pitch.

He would jab his low-90s four-seam fastball toward the right-hander’s body to distract them, then throw a changeup that dropped outside to induce a lot of false swings and misses. The changeup, which he knew he couldn’t make contact with, was a top-of-the-line pitch in the majors for years.

But the changeup wasn’t the only pitch he had in his arsenal: his curveball. In fact, it wasn’t a pitch he threw much in the first place. In 2013, his first year in the majors, Ryu threw his curveball only 9.8% of the time. He threw it less often than his changeup (22.7%) and slider (13.9%). But he did a pretty good job of taking away timing.먹튀검증

That percentage of curveballs has steadily increased as they’ve moved beyond relief and into occasional deciding pitches. In 2014, it was 13.4%, in 2017, 15.7%, and in 2018, 18.2%. And last year, before his injury, it was 21%, the highest of his career.

Ryu’s curveball isn’t the fastball that some pitchers in the major leagues throw, which is more of a traditional curve around 70 mph. Instead, it has a large angle. Opposing hitters will inevitably focus on his fastball, changeup, or cutter. But when you have to throw a fastball or a deciding pitch, it’s hard to get a good look at a slow curveball.

That’s why curveball swing rates tend to be higher than changeups. In 2019, when Ryu had his breakout season, his curveball had a 40% swing rate. In 2020, it was 32.3%, and in 2021, it was 35%, which is higher than the changeup. Ryu is now confident in his curveball.

This was evident in his return to the major leagues after elbow surgery against the Baltimore Orioles on April 2. In the first inning of the game, Ryu was struggling with his fastball, and his changeup’s drop angle was flat. Recognizing this, Ryu and Danny Jansen began to utilize their curveball more in the second inning. The curve was working, and it was relatively new to Baltimore hitters.

Ryu’s curveball percentage on the day was 25 percent, but he was using it mostly for strikes and deciding pitches. In fact, it was more prominent than his changeup (27.5%). He went 2-for-7 with it, and his swinging strike rate reached 35.7%.

The curveball’s drop (70) was actually better than last year’s (68), and its revolutions per minute (2608) were also much higher than last year’s (2530). It was enough to give the impression that the curve was falling with power.

The Canadian Sportsnet crew, who were in charge of the game, also commented positively on Ryu’s curveball drop between innings. “Look at this breaking ball. The curveball dropped very well. He’s doing a good job against younger hitters with it,” and “He had a good curveball against Westberg earlier, and Urias had a big break on his curveball.”

Rob Friedman, who runs the pitching analysis site Pitching Ninja, also posted a video of Ryu’s curve on social media, saying, “Ryu’s 70 mph curve was nasty.”

Of course, his changeup wasn’t in great shape that day, so he put his curve to the forefront. But now, Ryu has become a more demanding pitcher, giving the impression that he can throw his curveball at any time, and throw it well. If he can get his fastball, cutter, and changeup back in shape, he’ll have a very potent repertoire.