Kiwoom Heroes closer Ju Seung-woo pitches against the LG Twins during the teams’ Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Sept. 11, 2024, in this photo provided by the Heroes. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Sept. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — After bouncing between the rotation and the bullpen in his limited time in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) over the past two years, Kiwoom Heroes right-hander Ju Seung-woo has found a home this season as the team’s closer.
Armed with a new pitch and a requisite short memory for closers, Ju is enjoying his best season at age 24. Through Thursday’s action, Ju had career highs of 13 saves and four wins, along with a 4.07 ERA. His 51 appearances and 48 2/3 innings pitched are both career-best marks too.
“Earlier in the season, I pitched in a lot of tight situations, and I used to feel really nervous. But now, I feel more comfortable on the mound,” Ju told reporters at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on Thursday, moments after the Heroes’ game against the LG Twins was rained out. “I feel like I have enough mental fortitude now to be able to make pitches in tough situations.”
Ju began this season as a middle reliever before notching his first career save as the team’s new closer on April 16. Ju briefly ceded the closer job to veteran ex-closer Cho Sang-woo in June. And when Cho went down with a shoulder injury in July, the Heroes made Ju their closer again and have stuck with him since.
Ju responded to that show of faith with an excellent month of August, in which he recorded five saves while allowing just one earned run in 13 innings. He has not allowed a run since Aug. 11, 10 outings ago.
Ju said adding a two-seam fastball to his repertoire, upon the recommendation from pitching coach Lee Seung-ho, has been the key to his success.
“First, I thought I wouldn’t be able to throw that pitch as hard as my four-seam fastball, but I haven’t lost any velocity,” Ju said. “I’ve been pretty surprised myself. And the new pitch has given me so much confidence. The coach has also helped me get back to my delivery from my college days. He has done so much work for me this year.”
Ju said the best part of being the closer is to celebrate victories with his teammates after recording the final out.
“I enjoy being the last pitcher responsible for preserving the win,” Ju said. “Whenever I get to celebrate with my teammates on the mound, it makes me appreciate this role that much more.”
Ju is not immune to poor outings and blown saves. But like many other successful closers that have come before him, Ju said he tries to forget about those games as quickly as possible.
“Whenever those games happen, I try not to think about baseball,” he said. “I try to distract myself by watching films, TV series or listening to music.”
Asked about the latest show or film he had watched, Ju grinned and said, “I went back and watched some Harry Potter films again.”
This hasn’t exactly been a magical season for the Heroes, who are in last place in the 10-team league at 56-76. But Ju’s emergence as the closer has been one of the few bright spots for the Seoul-based club.
Earlier Thursday, Ju was named to the 60-man provisional roster for South Korea for the World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 tournament, scheduled in November. The deadline for the KBO to submit the final roster of 27 players is Oct. 11.
When asked if he thought he could make the cut, Ju smiled and said: “It was surreal to see my name on the list. If I keep doing my job, maybe they will come calling.”
(Yonhap)
