"I sent a lot of foreigners, but when Kelly went, I cried." Will Aces, who made everyone cry, be able to come back as LG
"I sent a lot of foreigners, but when Kelly went, I cried." Will Aces, who made everyone cry, be able to come back as LG
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Casey Kelly (36), who played for the LG Twins until last year, is considered the best foreigner in the club.카지노사이트
As evidenced by his stellar performance for six seasons, which is a rare case as a foreign pitcher, he gained ground through his skills. In a total of 163 games, he won 73 wins and 46 losses with a 3.25 ERA and 753 strikeouts in 989 ⅓ innings, the fifth largest number of wins in the history of the LG Twins. In the history of the KBO, Dustin Nippert with eight wins (eight seasons), Daniel Rios with 90 wins (six seasons), and Henry Sosa with 77 wins (eight seasons) are the only foreign pitchers who have won more than Kelly.
Pitcher Kelly's charm lies in his ability to pull off innings. With most teams having difficulty even setting up a starting rotation, Kelly, who has played 175 or more innings on average since joining the team in 2019, has been an indispensable supporter of LG's mound. Thanks to Kelly's presence, strong batters were able to turn the game around at any time, and the ironclad pitching staff was able to keep the win. It was his first Korean Series victory in 29 years.
It was Kelly who showed more than just his performance. It is fundamental to help foreign players who are new to Korea adjust smoothly, and even Korean players, including rookies who have transferred from other teams or joined new teams, were included. Kelly was not called an unforeseen foreign pitcher for no reason.
A source from LG said, "Kelly was very close to all of us. She took care of Kelly from top to bottom. Lim Chan-gyu, Lee Jung-yong, and Kim Yun-sik all grew up watching her. When young players came, she said in Korean, 'I'm older than you,'" he recalled. "When I first came to Austin, Kelly suddenly said, 'I'm your senior.' He taught me Korean, and Austin got a lot of help."
LG's Austin Dean (left) sheds tears at Kelly's farewell ceremony last year.
The LG Twins team is taking a group shot at the Kelly farewell ceremony held after the rain cancellation of the match against Doosan Bears in Jamsil last year.
Austin Dean (32), who became the best player in LG's third year by renewing his contract after last season, recalled Kelly's help and tried to follow the same path. "Kelly is a friend who has helped me a lot in adapting to Korean life and the KBO league. I'm going to take over that and help (Yoni) Chirinos and (Eliaser) Hernandez adapt to KBO and LG comfortably," Austin said recently at the first spring camp in Arizona.
As such, Kelly's farewell ceremony at the Doosan Bears match in Jamsil on July 20 last year was still a lingering moment for LG players. At that time, he sent tears to the captain's team including Kim Hyun-soo (37) and Oh Ji-hwan (35), as well as Lim Chan-kyu (33) and Austin, who were leaving. Kelly couldn't hold back his emotions and burst into tears. An LG team official who was with him said, "I sent a lot of foreign players while working for the team, but when Kelly left, I really shed tears. It rained again, which made me sad."
Lim Chan-kyu, who recalled the moment, said, "My heart hurt so much. Rather than saying that the breakup hurt, I tried to spend it with a smile as much as I could because I had to send it well. Everyone knew Kelly was leaving, but Kelly (who was in the beginning) prepared the game casually and kept waiting even though it was raining. Seeing that, one side of my heart was weird."
LG's Lim Chan-kyu (left) hugs Kelly with tears at his farewell ceremony last year.
As for the tearful hug that became a hot topic, he said, "After the farewell ceremony, I hugged him from behind and told him that he had a hard time. I think he sent it well as a really good friend. Since then, I have been in contact with him often from Korea, and I have seen him when I came to the U.S. as an advance team. I think I was able to send Kelly well because I have good friends again."
Kelly also visited the LG squad with his family at Arizona Camp on the 16th to share friendship. Notifying only the club of the news that LG is leaving for Korea soon, he visited the training site without the knowledge of the team, making the players even more happy. The LG club presented Kelly, who played for the LG Twins for six years, with a photo album containing a plaque of appreciation and performance.
After visiting the camp, Kelly said through the club, "I missed my teammates a lot. It's great to be able to come out to the ballpark today and meet you again," adding, "I missed every single person on the team. I wish my teammates good luck for the season and good things happen this year."
Kelly, who received so much love, would be able to come back to LG in the future. In fact, foreign players who have had long-term relationships with other KBO clubs have become advisors and scouts after retirement. Moreover, it is conceivable for a player like Kelly who played a big role in creating the LG team culture in the 2020s by helping foreign players adapt and grow Korean players.
After the interview, Lim Chan-kyu welcomed the question, "What do you think it would be like for Kelly to come back to LG later?" "It would be great if Kelly came. I think it would be difficult now because Kelly has a strong will to extend his active career, but it would be great to come back to us later."