“I hope the younger players can absorb the know-how.”

Doosan Bears manager Lee Seung-yeop said of Jang Won-jun, 38, who pitched 5.1 innings of one-run ball the day before against the Hanwha Eagles in Jamsil on the 7th, “Both the ball movement and the content of his pitches were good, especially the fastball he threw to the body. Even when my fastball was at 135-136 kilometres per hour, I saw the batters backing away and avoiding it, and I thought, ‘The ball still has power.’ It was a pitch that helped both the team and the player.”스포츠토토

Jang Won-jun has also been a big boost to a starting line-up that has suffered a string of injuries this season, including foreign pitcher Dylan Pyle. “He’ll start next week if he’s feeling well,” Lee said. He hasn’t been in the starting rotation for the past few years, so we will manage his pitch count and pitch spacing so that he can pitch his best.”

The centrepiece of the Doosan dynasty, Jang has spent more time in the second team than the first since 2018. However, he added his first win in five years against the Samsung Lions in Jamsil on 23 March (four runs in five innings) to reach 130 career wins. He is the 11th player in history to reach 130 wins after Song Jin-woo, Jung Min-cheol, Lee Kang-chul, Sun Dong-yeol, Bae Young-soo, and Kim Won-hyung. The momentum carried over to a win against Hanwha in Jamsil on the 6th, giving him his second straight start in 1899 days.

Doosan’s young pitchers have a lot of know-how to learn from the 131-win pitcher, but they have even more to learn as he also pitches on the mound. “There are only 11 pitchers in Korea with more than 130 wins. Even in the 40-year history of the league, there are only 11 of them, and being together is a strong motivator for junior pitchers.”

“Jang Won-jun is a quiet player who doesn’t talk much, but there are many things to learn from him, from his silent preparation to the way he plays the game,” Lee said, adding, “Younger players may be more advanced in terms of batting. But I hope that Kim Dong-joo, Choi Seung-yong and Kwak Bin can see and feel that we only gave away one point for over 140 kilometres. I hope they can absorb the experience and know-how that younger players don’t have, and learn how to deal with batters.”