SSG Landers Cho Byung-hyun (21), who made a strong impression with five consecutive strikeouts, expressed his ambition this season.
At 6:30 p.m. on the 4th, Cho Byung-hyun made his relief appearance in the 2024 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League home game against the Doosan Bears at SSG Landers Field in Incheon, recording one and two scoreless innings, no hit, no outs, and five strikeouts. Thanks to Cho Byung-hyun’s good pitching, SSG defeated Doosan 3-2 and won six consecutive games.
Cho Byung-hyun started his professional career in 2021 with the 28th pick in the second round of the SK Wyverns (current SSG). However, in 2021, the year of his debut, he played three games and failed to stand out with an 8.10 ERA without losing or losing, and later joined the Sangmu team.
Cho’s potential was in full bloom at Sangmu. He showed promise with 4 wins and 1 loss and 1 hold ERA of 3.77 in 11 games in the 2022 season, and won the Futures Southern League’s relief pitcher with 2 wins and 2 losses and 17 saves and 4 holds of 2.25 ERA in 43 games in the 2023 season.
Cho, who has advanced to the next level in the military, is considered a new must-win group for the SSG this season. He played in five games before the game, showing his strongest performance with a two-hold ERA of 1.59. And on the day, he threw a pitch that surprised everyone who visited SSG Landers Field.
At the top of the sixth inning with his team leading 2-1, Cho took the mound with one out and runners on the first and second bases. He faced Doosan`s main hitters Yang Seok-hwan and Kang Seung-ho.
Cho struck out Yang with a curveball, and Kang used only his fastball to garner three pitches and three strikeouts. He took the mound in the top of the seventh inning as well, striking out both Jang and Park, starting with Henry Ramos. He struck out five batters in a row.
Cho Byung-hyun smiled brightly in an interview after the game, saying, “I tried to show what I prepared last year in the first 토토 team as much as possible, but it started well.”
“My strength is that I can throw my own ball without shaking on the mound,” he said. “There were crises and comfortable situations, but it was always fun on the mound. That’s why I gained a lot of confidence.”
Cho said Sangmu has changed many things. “I had a lot of good players in Sangmu, so I had to learn a lot. I also participated in many matches, and I was able to develop further. In particular, I learned a lot from (Kim) Hyun-soo of KIA and (Lee) Seung-min of Samsung.”
What is Cho’s goal for this season? “I want to shoot at 153 kilometers per hour. My goal is 20 holds, too. I made plans even before the spring camp,” Cho confidently said.