The meaning of "Kim Hyunsoo's 90 Degrees of Greetings" is... Even if my son is born, I give up going to the U.S. Take the mound after three days off.Even the Korean name tattoo... Icon of 'Devidence' for the team. He was a good man until the end
Jul 21, 2024
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LG Twins' 'Jamsil Jesus' Casey Kelly broke up with the KBO League after the game against Jamsil Doosan, where the no-game was declared on the 20th. LG has signed new foreign pitcher Elijah Hernandez and decided to announce Kelly on waivers. Kelly, who has played for LG since 2019, has been an indispensable ace at LG. He was a pitcher who always led the team as the first starter and pitched well in the postseason.
Since his performance was good, he renewed his contract and played for six years until this year. He became the fifth foreign pitcher to play for six years. Even if they played together for a long time, not all the players would be sad in tears. For he was just as good a man as he was.
It was different from other foreign players. He's always been for the team, he's been for the fans. Dedicated himself to the team.
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I tried to throw as many innings as possible for bullpen pitchers, whether it was good or bad. From May 16, 2020, to Jamsil Kiwoom (6 innings) to Incheon SSG (8 innings) on July 28, 2022, he has a new record of pitching more than 5 innings in 75 consecutive games. Of his 163 starts, only six failed to exceed five innings. In other words, 157 pitches have been thrown more than five times. This year, he pitched 113 ⅔ innings to rank No. 1 in the team and No. 5 overall.
In September 2021, Kelly said she would not go on maternity leave to throw on the mound because her son was born in the U.S. At that time, he gave up looking at his son for the team because he was competing for first place with KT and Samsung. Usually, foreign players go on vacation to the U.S. when there is a family event, but Kelly was almost the only one who did not go to the U.S. when their son was born.
Kelly started Game 1 in the 2022 playoffs and became a winning pitcher with two runs in six innings. Then, he took a three-day break and showed his fighting spirit to start again in Game 4, which was driven to one win and two losses. OK for the team at the request of the coaching staff. Even though he threw 95, he decided to take the mound after a three-day break that he had never played before. He pitched two runs in five innings, but lost because the lineup did not explode, and Kelly's fighting spirit was in vain.
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Kelly never forgets to thank her Korean fans for always supporting her and her family. Perhaps that's why his Korean name 'Kelly' was tattooed on the back of his left ear to put his love for Korea into action. He also shed tears as he thanked his fans during an interview after pitching perfectly until the eighth inning of the Jamsil Samsung match on June 25.
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In the end, when it became a no-game and her breakup with Kelly became official, Kelly shed tears that she had endured. And all my colleagues were also sad with tears in their eyes. At the farewell ceremony, captain Kim Hyun-soo came out to give him a bouquet of flowers to say goodbye and bowed to him in 90 degrees. It was a respectful gesture to him for his dedication to the team. Kim Young-joon, who was not often seen as well as the players who were always with him in the first team, was also seen crying. It's a scene where you can see how good he was to his colleagues.
It was not easy to see a player with good skills and personality in the KBO League, which has been with numerous foreign players. Kelly was a model for not only foreigners but also Korean players.
indyk@sportschosun.com
