Japanese media have taken note of Samsung Lions “ace” Won Tae-in, 23, who has expressed a desire to play in Japanese professional baseball.

Japanese media outlet The Anchor reported on the 13th, “Korean ace Won Tae-in aims to enter the NPB. The 23-year-old right-hander’s dream is to play in the Japanese professional baseball league.”

“It’s good to be the best in Korea, but I have a lot of good thoughts about Japanese baseball,” Won said in a recent interview with a broadcaster.

In response to Won’s interview, the media showed interest in his goal, saying, “Why did he think of this in an era when outfielder Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco Giants) and pitcher Ko Woo-seok (San Diego Padres) are heading to the major league stage?”

After graduating from Gyeongbuk High School, Won introduced Won Tae-in, who was drafted by Samsung in 2019 and played professionally. The media said, “He appeared in 26 games in his first year, and later became a starter, 바카라사이트 posting a 14-7 record and a 3.06 ERA in 2021. In five years and 132 games, the right-hander has a career record of 41 wins, 40 losses, and two holds.”

Won has become Samsung’s “young ace” and South Korea’s leading starter.

He also gained international experience, especially in the World Baseball Classic (WBC).

The WBC was held in March last year at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, where Korea tasted the bitter taste of being eliminated in the first round for the third consecutive time following the 2013 and 2017 tournaments. South Korea was in Group B of the first round, and Won pitched in three games against Australia, Japan, and China. In all, he pitched 4⅓ innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits with five strikeouts and two walks for a 6.23 ERA.

At the Hangzhou Asian Games in October last year, he pitched a six-inning no-hitter with three hits and six strikeouts against China to lead South Korea to victory.

‘The Anchor’ said, “Won Tae-in has played in the Tokyo Olympics, WBC, etc. and is seen as a future Korean ace. But it’s not that he wants to play in Japan right away. He said, ‘I’m not even the best in Korea right now. I need to grow more. I want to become a better player and knock on the door of the Japanese stage when I get the ‘qualification’,” he said, showing interest in the interview.

The media also reported that “a Japanese coach influenced Won Tae-in’s thoughts.” 토토사이트 추천 The coach was Eiji Ochiai (54), a former pitching coach for Samsung’s first team and manager of the second team Future Team. “Ochiai has a long history of coaching in Korea,” the outlet said, “and Won Tae-in was coached until 2021.”

It will be interesting to see if Won can take his pitching to another level this year and stay on track to fulfill his dream.