With a foreign player on the verge of saying goodbye to him, he shed tears from the heart of his teammates who supported him. They sincerely wished for Lee’s success, and so did all NC fans. His performance during the season in Korea was beautiful, and even his final farewell was beautiful.
Having spent a historic season as a foreign pitcher for NC Dinosaurs last year, Eric Peddy of the Chicago White Sox returned to the Major League, which he is familiar with, after the 2023 season ended. Many Major League teams offered to sign him at the end of the season, and he signed a two-year, 15 million-dollar contract with the Chicago White Sox considering conditions and competition environment. As a failed prospect in the Major League, Peddy took the opportunity again.
In fact, he had garnered great attention since he joined the team. He was close to starting pitcher of the Major League all the way up until the previous season, no matter how downhill he was. After being drafted by Washington in the first round (18th overall) in 2014 and making a splendid entrance to the Major League, he was spotlighted as one of the promising starting players of his team. Everything went smoothly until his Major League debut in 2017. In 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic ended, he got a chance to start full time.
However, he failed to take advantage of his two-year opportunity to play as a starting pitcher. He played in 56 games (54 starts), but only won 13-22 with a 5.64 ERA. Washington has decided to end his relationship with the promising pitcher that he cherished for a long time. He was released after the 2022 season ended, and surprisingly, it was Korea that Peddy chose. After preparing thoroughly for the off-season, Peddy showed off his skills without reservation. It was possible because Korea was guaranteed stable starting chances.
In an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times on Tuesday, he spoke in a calm tone about the maintenance process in the transition period from 2022 to 2023, and his life in Korea. “I knew I had to change in a few things. I wasn’t getting the success I wanted. I moved to Arizona and went to training facilities and pitching labs to boost my performance. They brought some physiotherapists to the facility to get my mood right and build a new repertoire while also taking care of my health,” he recalled a year ago. 안전놀이터
In an interview, he recalled that he had overhauled his pitching repertoire that allowed him to maximize his strengths during that period. He looked into the process by which sweeper who moves more horizontally with slider balls gained popularity in the Major League, and polished the sweeper. “I checked the change-up again. Thanks to this, I was able to throw four different pitches when I went to Korea, and I had a lot of success,” he said.
He also thanked everyone, saying that he would never forget his life in Korea. In any case, he sincerely treated himself as a stranger. He assimilated well into Korean culture and was greatly loved by his fans. When asked about his experience in Korea, he said, “It was amazing.”
“They treated me really well. The atmosphere with the crowd’s chants was incomparable. It was a great place,” Peddy said. “I wanted a place to throw a lot of innings and use and control my weapons. Korea was really a place to provide that for me,” he said, acknowledging that his satisfied life in Korea changed his life.
Now, he will make his Major League debut again. It is a hot topic of conversation about how a promising player who failed will perform in the Major League after undergoing evolution in a foreign league for a year. Whether he succeeds or not, the view of the Orient League may change again. He is confident. He is full of commitment to regain his footing in the Major League by driving the momentum of his success in Korea.
“I don’t have more confidence than this. Now I’m going to incorporate that feeling into my upcoming pitching in the Major League,” he said. “I believe this success will be applied to the Major League as well.” In my last year in Washington, D.C., I didn’t feel what I have now. I feel stronger and healthier. I feel like I’m back. I also have the sharpness of my pitches that I didn’t have before,” he said in expressing his commitment to cope with the return season.