Despite protests from the opposing bench about double-kicking and holding, she stuck to her guns. On the contrary, he showed a stronger sense of competitiveness and made his debut a huge success.안전놀이터
KIA’s new foreign pitcher Mario Sanchez (29) made his debut in the seventh game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against the KT Wiz at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on April 9, giving up one run on five hits (one home run) in 6⅓ innings with 10 strikeouts and no walks.
He gave up a solo home run to Lee Ho-yeon in the top of the fifth inning, but was unflappable the rest of the way. The only inning in which he was in scoring position was the fourth when Jang Jang-woo doubled. Sanchez threw a variety of pitches, including a slider, changeup, curve, two-seam, and cutter under a fastball that topped out at 147 mph, to get a quality start in his debut. Sanchez also threw a sweeper that didn’t show up on the pitch breakdown sheet.
After the game, Sanchez said, “First of all, I feel really good. I hope I can do this all season long,” he said, adding, “The pitch I’m most confident with is my sweeper. I got a lot of strikeouts with my sweeper. It’s a pitch I started throwing last year.”
However, the debut was not as smooth as the record suggests. Before the start of the fourth inning, he was caught in a double-kicking controversy and was cautioned by the umpires, and in the bottom of the sixth inning, he was protested by his opponent for his blocking behavior while trying to keep the runner on first base. A KIA official said, “When pitching, you have to raise your left leg consistently, but he was seen raising it once more, so the umpires explained this to Sanchez and the coaching staff. The umpires explained this to Sanchez and the coaching staff and warned them that the pitch would be judged as a ball if they made a double motion.”
But the players remained resolute. “It didn’t bother me at all,” Sanchez said. “I didn’t mind it at all,” Sanchez said. I threw with more confidence,” he said, adding, “The double move is something I’ve always done throughout my career, so I don’t think it would be easy for me to stop doing it now, but if they call it a ball, I won’t.”
After being called for a double in the sixth inning, Sanchez appeared to increase the number of pitches he threw. The Kia fans cheered and the KT fans booed, causing a brief battle of wills between the fans. When asked about his intentions, Sanchez said, “I was just blocking a lot because Kim Sang-soo is a fast runner. We analyzed him before the game and saw how strong he was. I didn’t intentionally block him many times.”
We also got to hear the story behind the unique catching move. “A teammate I played with last year used this move throughout his career,” Sanchez said. I tried it in camp last year and used it in a game, and it immediately caught the runner and I’ve been doing it ever since. It helps to tie up runners.”
Sanchez pitched in a different way than his predecessor Adonis Medina, and he was pleased with his debut: “I would give myself a 90 out of 100, because I gave up one run. But it doesn’t matter what my record is, the team wins,” he said, showing his team-first mentality.