OSAKA, In both of South Korea's exhibition games prior to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in Osaka this week, reliever Kim Won-jung was summoned from the bullpen on short notice.
And both times, he cleaned up the mess created by his teammates and did so without even blinking an eye.
"Relievers like us always have to get ready on short notice anyway," Kim said after South Korea's 7-4 win over the Hanshin Tigers on Tuesday at Kyocera Osaka Dome. "We're always supposed to get the job done that way. So I don't really worry too much about when I get my number called."
Manager Lee Kang-chul wanted all 15 of his pitchers to see work in these two exhibitions, the first of which ended in a 4-2 loss to the Orix Buffaloes on Monday. Kim was one of two relievers to pitch in both games.
In the first game, Kim came on for Go Woo-suk, who was pulled with one out in the eighth inning with neck stiffness. Kim retired the two batters he faced to escape the inning unscathed.
Then Tuesday, Kim took over from shaky reliever Jung Woo-young, who gave up a leadoff home run, and then loaded the bases with a double and two straight walks.
The Tigers only managed to score once from that opportunity, as Kim got Seishiro Sakamoto to bounce into a double play, and struck out Kai Ueda to limit further damage.
"I tried to be aggressive and get some quick outs," said Kim, who pumped his fist after the strikeout that ended the rally.
South Korea will play its first Pool B game at noon Thursday against Australia at Tokyo Dome. After pitching on back-to-back days here, Kim will get one day of break before potentially taking the mound again in the crucial tournament opener.
This time of year is early for pitchers to be battling in such meaningful, high-stress situations. In a typical season that doesn't include a tournament like the WBC in their calendar in March, pitchers in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) would be gearing up for low-leverage preseason games. Kim, closer for the Lotte Giants, would be timing his preparation so he'd be ready for the regular season in April.
Asked if he was concerned about disruption in his preseason training, Kim said he will cross that bridge when he gets there.
"I don't usually worry about things that may or may not happen in the future. If I run into some issues later in the season, then I should be able to find solutions as necessary," Kim said. "Right now, my job is to stay ready for this tournament and to pitch as well as I can here. I will try to finish this tournament healthy and then start thinking about the KBO season later."
Source: Yonhap News Agency