The free-agent pitcher Eom Sang-baek (29) of the Hanwha Eagles found a turning point in his return to the first team after 16 days. Although he missed out on a win as a starter, he delivered a performance that gave hope for his next outing. He is also overcoming the pressure that comes with being a free-agent signing.
Eom Sang-baek started in the away game against the NC Dinos in the 2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Changwon NC Park on the 31st, pitching 5 innings with 8 hits allowed, 2 walks, and 1 strikeout while giving up 2 runs. In the 8th inning, with 2 outs and a runner on 3rd base, closer Kim Seo-hyeon allowed the tying run due to a passed ball by catcher Choi Jae-hun, preventing him from earning the win, but his pitching set the stage for Hanwha's 9-6 victory. His season ERA decreased from 6.68 to 6.27.
Eom Sang-baek, who joined Hanwha with a free-agent contract worth up to 7.8 billion won for four years last winter, has struggled in his first year after the transfer. Before the game against NC, he had appeared in 8 games this season (32⅓ innings) with a record of 1 win and 4 losses and an ERA of 6.68, leading to his demotion to the second team. His performance in 2 games (6⅔ innings) in the Futures League was also poor with an ERA of 6.75, but he made his return to the first team after 16 days.
Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon noted, "The records in the second team don't look good, but he is still Eom Sang-baek. We brought him in because we believe he has that potential. If (Eom) Sang-baek performs well today, it could be a huge boost for the team," expressing his hopes. For this game, he changed catchers from Lee Jae-won, with whom he had formed a battery in 7 of the previous 8 games, to Choi Jae-hun to bring some change.
The first inning started off shakily. He allowed a leadoff single to NC's Han Seok-hyun on the first pitch, but got Kim Joo-won to fly out to center field. However, his second pitch to Park Min-woo resulted in a hit-by-pitch. Nevertheless, he managed to end the inning by getting Matt Davidson and Park Gun-woo to fly out to left field, finishing the inning with only 8 pitches.
However, he gave up a run in the second inning. He struck out leadoff hitter Oh Young-soo looking with a low fastball on the outer part of the plate, but allowed a triple to Kim Hui-jip that went toward the right field fence. He then gave up a timely hit to Cheon Jae-hwan, tying the game at 1-1. Both hitters connected with fastballs that entered the strike zone. In the following situation with 1 out and 1 runner on 1st base, he induced a ground ball from Ahn Jung-yeol to 3rd base and a ground ball from Han Seok-hyun to the shortstop, preventing any additional runs.
In the third inning, he retired Han Seok-hyun on a fly out to center field, got Park Min-woo to hit a ground ball to 2nd base, and closed the inning by getting Davidson to hit a ground ball to 3rd base, facing just 11 pitches. However, a new crisis arose in the fourth inning. After retiring Park Gun-woo on a fly out to right field and Oh Young-soo on a fly out to 3rd base, he allowed a single to shortstop Kim Hui-jip and a ground ball single to 2nd base by Cheon Jae-hwan, putting runners on base. A hit-by-pitch to Ahn Jung-yeol quickly loaded the bases, but he overcame the threat by inducing a fly out to center field from Han Seok-hyun.
In the fifth inning, Eom Sang-baek allowed a single to Kim Joo-won and a single to Park Min-woo, creating a 1st and 3rd base crisis with no outs. Eom gave up a sacrifice fly to Davidson, allowing the game to tie 2-2, but managed to pick off the 1st base runner Park Min-woo to catch his breath. Though he was hit with another single by Park Gun-woo, he handled Oh Young-soo after a 9-pitch battle, ending his 5 innings of work.
In the sixth inning, Chae Eun-seong hit a go-ahead solo home run to left field, granting Eom Sang-baek the criteria for a winning pitcher. He handed the mound over to Ju Hyun-sang at the start of the sixth inning, finishing with a total of 83 pitches. Eom's top speed reached 148 km/h with an average of 144 km/h, primarily featuring a two-seam fastball (46 pitches), complemented by change-ups and sliders (17 pitches) and cutters (3 pitches). He decreased his usage ratio of change-ups to focus more on fastballs.
After the game, Eom Sang-baek said, "I felt better hitting the ball compared to before. I wanted to go longer in the game, but since it was my first time pitching in a while (in the first team), the manager and coaches took me out early. I feel good that I was able to help the team win."
Eom Sang-baek, who has been under pressure from the attention and expectations after his free-agent transfer, stated, "I'm overcoming a tough time. I'm not someone who has played baseball exceptionally well, so I'm trying to accept things as they come and not get too frustrated. I'm just thinking about what the issue is and how I can do well."
During his 15 days of pitching in the Futures League, Eom Sang-baek stated, "I worked hard to regain my form. I struggled at the second team because it had been a while since I pitched, but today I pitched with a sense of urgency in the first team and it seems my form improved." He added, "Even when I was with KT, I am not someone who typically pays a lot of attention to my surroundings, but unconsciously, I was. When I went down to the second team, the manager mentioned, ‘Reflecting on your life until you get to FA isn't a bad thing.’ I looked back at how I started playing baseball in elementary school and realized that I felt too pressured. So, I tried to go back to doing things comfortably as I used to."
Mentally refreshing, he also changed his pitching pattern. Instead of using a four-seam fastball, he threw a two-seam fastball and reduced his usage of change-ups. Eom Sang-baek explained, "The two-seam wasn't intentional; it just felt right today. After pitching primarily with change-ups for several years, batters have analyzed that approach. I reduced the use of change-ups to add some variation today."
Ryu Hyun-jin, who secured a win the previous day (30th), urged the domestic starters, saying, "With foreign pitchers performing well, numbers 3, 4, and 5 in the rotation need to step up." Eom Sang-baek also remarked, "We need to step up," and vowed, "I will pitch more innings in my next start and show a better appearance."
[OSEN]