NC Dinos starter Kyle Hart returns to the dugout after retiring the side in the top of the sixth inning during a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game against the SSG Landers at Changwon NC Park in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, on Sept. 25, 2024. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Sept. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — NC Dinos ace Kyle Hart has lost his bid to become just the second foreign pitcher to win a Triple Crown in Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) history.
Hart’s dreams of accomplishing the rare feat evaporated after he served up two home runs in an 8-2 loss to the SSG Landers Wednesday night at Changwon NC Park in Changwon, some 300 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
Hart entered the game leading the league with a 2.44 ERA, while ranking second with 172 strikeouts and tied for third with 13 wins. With one more start left after Wednesday, Hart still had a shot at topping the KBO in all Triple Crown categories, and he was also in the lead in winning percentage with .867, thanks to his 13-2 record.
Hart, though, allowed a season-worst six earned runs in six innings, and all those runs came on home runs.
First, Hart allowed a three-run homer to Oh Tae-gon in the top of the second inning. Then in the sixth inning, it was Ha Jae-hoon’s turn to launch a three-run bomb off Hart.
This was only the second time all season that Hart had given up multiple home runs in a game.
Hart’s ERA went up to 2.69, now 0.16 points behind James Naile of the Kia Tigers. Naile will not pitch again this year after suffering a broken jaw on a line drive on Aug. 24, but he has already thrown enough innings to qualify for the ERA title. Even if Hart throws a complete game shutout in his next outing, he will not catch Naile in ERA.
In the wins department, Hart remained two behind Won Tae-in of the Samsung Lions. He could have at least tied Won and still have been recognized as the Triple Crown winner by leading the other two categories.
By striking out 10, Hart did take over the strikeout lead from Enmanuel De Jesus of the Kiwoom Heroes with 182.
NC Dinos starter Kyle Hart pitches against the SSG Landers during a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Changwon NC Park in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province, on Sept. 25, 2024. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
With his record now at 13-3, Hart’s winning percentage dropped to .813, now trailing KT Wiz reliever Park Yeong-hyun (.833), who is 10-2.
Though the winning percentage is not a Triple Crown category, the KBO recognizes the leader in that statistic each season. No pitcher in KBO history has ever topped the Triple Crown categories and the winning percentage.
The only non-Korean Triple Crown winner in KBO history remains former Dinos pitcher Erick Fedde, who won 20 games, struck out 209 batters and posted a 2.00 ERA en route to winning the regular-season MVP award last year.
Among South Korean pitchers, former Haitai (currently Kia) Tigers ace Sun Dong-yol won three Triple Crowns in a row from 1989 to 1991, while also leading the league in winning percentage in all three of those seasons. Another Tigers pitcher Yoon Suk-min pulled off the same feat in 201.
In 1996, then Hanwha Eagles pitcher Koo Dae-sung led the KBO in four categories: wins, ERA, winning percentage and save points, a category unique to the South Korean league at the time that combined wins and saves.
Hart missed some time in the second half of this season due to dizziness and hamstring issues.
(Yonhap)
