Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly, who has been a top major league starter through the KBO League, looked back on his time in Korea.
In an interview after beating the Texas Rangers 9-1 in Game 2 of the World Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas on the 29th, Kelly looked back on his pitching (three hits, one homer, nine strikeouts, one run) in seven innings.
"I think it was a matter of implementing the plan. When I think of the last Philadelphia and Championship Series, all the balls that were hit were balls that were not thrown as planned. It's been like that before, but especially after that game I was totally focused on throwing as planned. I paid attention to each ball," he said, explaining the secret of his good pitching.
"I threw this ball thinking it was the most important ball of the game. After throwing one like that, I thought the same thing about the next ball," he continued.
He, who played for the SK Wyverns in the KBO League for four years from 2015 to 2018, said, "There is a time difference between here and Korea, so a big league game was held when I woke up in the morning. "It was my routine to wake up in the morning, have a cup of coffee, and check the results of big league games," he said. "I was dreaming of a big league stage even when I was playing in the KBO League."
"I was literally tens of thousands of miles away, but my mindset was always to come back here," he said, adding that he was thinking of returning to the big league.
As for life in the KBO League, "The language barrier got in the way, but the people there tried to help me as much as possible. But in the end, it was my own voice and my own pitching coach that helped me there," he said, adding that his own voice was the most helpful.
"It's natural that the horse is completely different from here, and the way I approach pitches and mecanics was not the same way I saw them. Therefore, there were times when trying to target the same problem, the desired result was not achieved. That's why I had to work on skipping information that would help me and information that I needed to throw away," he recalled of his life at the time. 토토사이트
So he could reach the World Series stage. "No one would have expected me to throw in the World Series. In order to do so, many things have to work properly. The right place, the right time, and the right team must come together. There should be good colleagues who can contribute, such as Tommy Pham and Gabby (Gabriel Moreno). "It's not just me, it's the whole team's effort," he said, giving credit to his teammates.
Family members came to the stadium to watch his pitch. "It was really special," he said. I haven't seen my grandmother since 2011. I can't wait to go and meet you," he said about his family's visit to the stadium.
Last year, he went to watch the World Series in Philadelphia to celebrate his brother Reid's birthday, and this time he took the mound himself.
"My brother's birthday is Halloween," he said. One day, he sent a text message saying, "The World Series appearance will be the biggest birthday present I can get." I'm happy to do that," he said.