Reporter Oh Sang-jin = 2021 was the year that the three-letter name of ‘Lee Eui-ri’ was imprinted in the Korean baseball world. Eui-ri Lee appeared in 19 games in his debut season, went 4-5 in 19 games with an ERA of 3.61, giving the KIA Tigers the rookie title for the first time in 36 years. Eui-ri Lee, who participated in the Tokyo Olympics that summer, started as a starting pitcher against the United States and the Dominican Republic, striking out 9 in 5 innings each, and striking out 18 in 10 innings in 2 games, tied for first place in strikeouts in the tournament. 먹튀검증
The secret to Lee Eui-ri’s winning the strikeout king at the Olympics is, of course, her changeup. Lee Eui-ri struck out all 18 strikeouts against right-handed hitters, and most of the decisive pitches were fastballs and changeups. In the KBO League, Lee Eui-ri, who had an overwhelming changeup (0.122 hit rate), showed a better performance against right-handed hitters (0.190) than left-handed hitters (0.255 hit rate).
Lee Eui-ri, who entered his second year in 2022, recorded his first 10 wins (10 losses, average ERA of 3.86) in his debut, and was on a winning streak, but there were also regrets. It was the disappearance of the main weapon changeup. The use rate in 2021 was 24.8%, and the use rate in 2022 of the changeup, which was the second pitch, was only 9.5%. Lee Eui-ri himself had difficulty balancing to the point of commenting, “I forgot how to throw a changeup.” When the changeup, which was the deciding ball, disappeared, the hit rate against right-handed hitters also increased slightly from 0.190 to 0.220.
Lee Eui-ri, who is preparing for his third season, revealed that he focused on the perfection of his pitches in this spring camp, especially the changeup. Lee Eui-ri, who joined the World Baseball Classic (WBC) national team, raised her senses by throwing changeups intermittently against right-handed hitters in a practice game with the NC Dinos. Attention is focusing on whether Lee Eui-ri, who left a strong impression in his first international competition at the Olympics, will be able to play an active role on the WBC stage with a changeup again.