"Hold the KBO official ball home" I left for the Korean big leaguers and NC juniors who didn't forget

Before coming to Korea, NC's new foreign pitcher Tanner Turley (29) first acquired the KBO League official ball in the U.S. Drew Rucinski (35, Oakland Athletics), a former NC player and returned to the U.S. Major League Baseball this year, delivered the official ball directly to Tanner.

Lucinski and Tanner are alumni of Ohio State University in the United States and are "neighborhood acquaintances" who live in the same area. He also belongs to a baseball team of eight to nine players and will also participate in off-season training. Upon hearing Tanner's trip to Korea, Lucinski sold his feet himself. He visited Tanner's house and delivered the KBO official ball to help him adapt in advance.

Tanner said, "As soon as I heard that I was going to Korea, Lucinski came home with an official ball. "I even played catch with that ball," he laughed and said, "Rucinski told me to enjoy it in terms of life rather than baseball in Korea." "If you enjoy life in Korea, fans will like it, and the results will be good," he said.

Lucinski is considered the best pitcher in the club's history as he led NC to its first championship in 2020. He played four years in NC from 2019 to 2022, with a career record of 121 games (732⅔ innings), 53 wins, 36 losses, and a 3.06 ERA with 657 strikeouts. For the fourth consecutive year, he consistently pitched more than 177 innings, showing his ability to play innings. After finishing the season last year, he made a U-turn in the Major League by signing a one-year guarantee of $3 million with Oakland and a two-year maximum of $8 million with club options next year.

However, he started on the injured list after injuring his left hamstring before the season, and after coming to the Major League at the end of April, he was sluggish with four losses and a 9.00 ERA without winning four games (18 innings). Since then, he has left again due to gastritis and was out for the season after undergoing back surgery last month. Luczynski personally had a very difficult time, but he sold his feet and delivered the official ball on the news that Tanner was going to the KBO League and his home NC, not any other team.

Tanner, who made his KBO League debut against Hanwha in Changwon on the 15th, did not record a win or loss with six hits (two home runs) and four strikeouts and three runs in six innings, but he had a good start with quality. Roh Si-hwan in the first inning and Nick Williams in the sixth inning hit two home runs, but as it was known, his control was stable. He showed efficiency in blocking six innings with 86 balls even without a fiery fastball.

Tanner said, "I was happy to play after a long time. "It was also good that many fans came to the baseball stadium," he said. "It's the same baseball even though it's new during the season." It takes time to adjust to the time difference and official ball, but the ball got used to the hand as it played. "From the third inning, the slider movement has gotten better and better," he said, looking back on his debut. The main weapon slider, which bends wide to the outside of the left batter, seemed to be a swifter in fashion these days. Tanner said, "The lateral movement is big, so it looks like a sweeper, but I don't think it's that much. I think you can call it a slider," he said.

He is not in 100% condition yet because he has been absent for three weeks since his last appearance in the U.S. His fastball speed before his debut was up to 144km and an average of 140km, down from when he was in the U.S. NC manager Kang In-kwon said, "We showed the stable innings we expected, but both the maximum and average speed were reduced by about 2km." It seems to be a condition problem because it is his first appearance. The RPM (rotation per minute), which is affected by the official ball in Korea, was slightly higher than when it was in the U.S. "I think he will find his own restraint while playing the game," he expected.

Tanner also said, "I couldn't pitch for three weeks, so I went into the concept of live pitching. If you continue to build your body, your speed will improve. In the U.S., fastball speed traveled 88 to 91 miles (141.6 to 146.5 kilometers). "I want to raise it to 91 miles," he said adding, "My goal is to throw as many innings as possible as I can as I can as a starter and help the team win."

https://www.sportstototv.com