Professional baseball player Cody Ponce (31) of the Hanwha Eagles completed an outstanding first half and thrilled fans with his performance in the All-Star Game.
On the 12th, Ponce pitched as a starting pitcher for the Sharing All-Stars in the '2025 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO All-Star Game' held at Hanwha Life Eagles Park in Daejeon. Although he allowed the first run due to an error by the shortstop, he successfully finished his KBO League debut All-Star Game with 1 inning, 1 hit, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts, and 1 earned run for a no-decision victory. The Sharing All-Stars won 8-6, and Ponce was awarded the Best Pitcher.
Ponce, who had a brilliant first half with a record of 11 wins, an earned run average of 1.95, and 161 strikeouts over 18 games (115⅔ innings), is leading the league in earned run average, wins, and strikeouts. If he continues this performance in the second half, the pitching Triple Crown is within reach. Finishing the season with a pace of 18 wins and 266 strikeouts would place him joint second for the most wins in a single season in club history, alongside Ryu Hyun-jin (18 wins) from 2006, surpassing Ariel Miranda (225 strikeouts) for the single-season strikeout record in KBO history.
Fans responded to Ponce's amazing performance with their votes for the All-Star Game. Ponce collected 1,625,259 votes in the All-Star fan voting, the second-most votes after his teammate Kim Seo-hyeon (1,786,837 votes). Selected as a starting pitcher for the Sharing All-Stars Best 12, Ponce prepared a performance in gratitude for the fans' support. He directly sourced a costume and took the mound dressed as 'Darth Vader,' a notorious character from the movie Star Wars, and then threw his first pitch left-handed while wearing the jersey of Ryu Hyun-jin (Hanwha), whom he has always respected.
After the game, Ponce said in an interview, "I have loved the Star Wars movies since I was young, and especially liked Darth Vader. Even though he is a villain, I liked him more because he repents and turns to the good side in the end. The costume took some time as I ordered it from overseas. I mentioned that everyone needs to prepare at least this much since it’s their first All-Star. Thanks to that, I gained the courage to step on the mound today in Darth Vader's outfit."
Ponce, who has never hidden his admiration for Ryu Hyun-jin, also showed respect for him during the All-Star Game. Regarding throwing the first pitch while wearing Ryu's jersey, Ponce said, "Just being able to perform like that was an honor. I truly respect Ryu Hyun-jin. He has done so much here for a long time, so I prepared this performance with respect. I obtained the Ryu Hyun-jin jersey myself," and added, "Training and spending time together daily, there is so much to learn. Each day with Ryu Hyun-jin is truly precious," sharing what Ryu means to him.
Thanks to Ponce's performance, Hanwha finished the first half of the season with a record of 52 wins, 2 ties, and 33 losses, achieving a winning percentage of .612 and ranking first in the league. This is Hanwha's first time finishing first in the first half since 1992, a gap of 33 years. Many fans are looking forward to seeing Ponce and Hanwha continue their success in the remaining second half of the season.
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