The biggest reason that baseball fans remember the late Choi Dong-won as the ace and legendary figure is his indomitable fighting spirit that he displayed in the Korean Series in 1984. Back then, the postseason system was different, and the winners of the first and second leagues faced off in the Korean Series. Samsung, the champion of the previous league, chose Lotte as its partner in the Korean Series by blatantly playing losing games at the end of the latter half of the league. The team judged that Lotte would have an advantage in order to win the Korean Series.메이저놀이터
However, there was a misjudgment made by Samsung. Choi Dong-won was present at Lotte. In that year, Choi pitched in as many as five games in the Korean Series, and won all four games by himself, leading Lotte to its first win in the Korean Series. After starting in the first round, he pitched in the ninth inning with a shutout of nine innings, took two days off, and started again in the third round, and achieved a complete victory by allowing two runs in nine innings. Choi took the mound as a starting pitcher after two days of rest and became a losing pitcher by allowing three runs (two earned runs) in eight innings. One day later, Choi took the mound as a starting pitcher again in the seventh game after a day off, and produced Lotte's victory by allowing four runs (four earned runs) in nine innings. It is an immortal milestone that can never come out or should never come out in modern baseball, where standards against overuse of pitchers have changed.
In modern baseball, where the division of pitchers is systematically established, the system of four starters is usually used in the postseason of four wins out of seven games. A pitcher who started in Game 1 will start Game 5, and a starter in Game 2 will start Game 6. No matter how outstanding the ace pitcher is, it is not easy for him to take the mound more than two games.
Of course, he could pitch in three games. For example, Madison Bumgarner of the San Francisco Giants, who reigned as the best "fall ace" over Clayton Kershaw, the ace of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the first starting pitcher of the district, is the only example. After becoming the winning pitcher by allowing one run in seven innings in the first World Series against the Kansas City Royals in 2014, he pitched nine scoreless innings on the starting mound again in Game 5. He pitched in the seventh and fifth innings of relief when the two teams were tying three games to three, and secured San Francisco's win by himself by pitching five scoreless innings in perfect relief. As such, two starts and one relief appearance are the limits that an ace pitcher can achieve in modern baseball.
There is a reason why the conversation has dragged on for a long time. The 2024 KBO League Korean Series (KS: Game 1) may indeed allow ace pitchers to take the mound for the third time in a long time due to rainy weather at the beginning of the series. Won Tae-in, the Korean ace who won the most wins (15 wins and 6 losses) during the regular season, has made it clear that he can take the mound for games 4 and 7 following the first game.
Won Tae-in started Game 1 of the KS against KIA at KIA Champions Field in Gwangju on the 21st and gave up only two hits and two walks in five innings, giving up a perfect scoreless pitch. Won Tae-in's first game stopped in five innings as the suspending game was declared due to a thick rain on the first and second bases with no outs in the top of the sixth inning when Samsung led 1-0.
As the first round, which was scheduled to resume on Tuesday, was postponed for one more day due to ground conditions and rain forecast due to overnight rain, Won decided to resume on Sunday, he gained time to rest. Under the current circumstances, Won can take the mound after four days of rest in the fourth round, which is scheduled for Wednesday. As the first round was suspended, Won's pitch count was relatively small with 66 pitches. He is in a situation where he can sufficiently play after four days of rest. And if he wants, he can start in the seventh round, which will take place on Thursday after three days of rest. Aces, which is hardly seen anymore, can now take the mound in Games 1, 4, and 7.
The blue blood ace does not shy away from this situation. "We have an environment where we can play in three games, and of course, we have to throw it. We are ready to throw from the sixth inning of the suspended game in the first round of the KS that will take place tomorrow," Won told reporters on Tuesday. "I am ready to give everything to baseball this fall."