NC's most winning ace, who was the best man in the integrated Championship

Lee Jae-hak (33), the change-up master who is the pitcher of the NC Dinos team with the most wins (81 wins) and the founding contributor.

After moving from Doosan to NC through the second draft held in 2011, he laid the foundation for the pitching staff. Since 2013, he has won double digits for four consecutive years, playing as a native ace.

But when the team came out on top, there was no Lee Jae-hak. Lee Jae-hak was the best man when NC won the 2020 regular season and the Korean Series. In 2020, he was sluggish with 5 wins and 6 losses and an ERA of 6.55 in 19 games, and eventually failed to make the Korean Series entry. There was no Lee Jae-hak at the moment when he won his first Korean Series in nine years, and then captain Yang Eui-ji (currently Doosan) celebrated his execution sword.

For NC, it was an inevitable choice at the time. It was ironic and painful that Lee Jae-hak, who decorated several pages in the club's history, was not at the best moment in the club's history. Lee Jae-hak had no choice but to be heartbroken. Therefore, the fall baseball stage that came back was even more special and special.

This year, Lee Jae-hak recorded a record of five wins and five losses in 15 games (13 starts) and an ERA of 4.54 (34 earned runs in 67 ⅓ innings). Quality Start has recorded five performances. On June 22, he left the game against LG in Changwon due to a fractured metatarsal bone after being hit by a left foot by a ball, and he was able to return only after rehabilitation for about two months.

And in the postseason, he has now put down the title of a native ace and has become a man who does not hesitate to do bad things while not covering starters and bullpens. In the first game of the wild card game against Doosan, he recorded one hit and one strikeout in ⅔ innings. He pitched in two of the three semi-playoff games against SSG and recorded a 1.91 (two earned runs in three ⅔ innings).

Ace Eric Peddy was unable to take the mound in the wild card game and the semi-playoff. NC's starting lineup was especially inferior to SSG. Lee Jae-hak was not included in the starting resource, but he played a significant role in the upsets of three consecutive semi-playoffs while playing an intermediate role. He properly served as a link to Kim Young-kyu and Ryu Jin-wook, who are the must-win group.

However, Lee Jae-hak's fall baseball, which had been on the mound for a long time, could have ended as it was. Lee Jae-hak threw his best with one hit, four walks and one run in the second ⅔ inning in Game 3 of the semi-playoff on the 25th.

Starting Tanner collapsed with five runs in two innings. He took over Baton with no outs and first base in the third inning, barely leading 7-5. He caught the first batter Park Sung-han with a fly ball to third baseman, but allowed Kim Sung-hyun and Oh Tae-gon to walk consecutively, causing a full base crisis with one out. A situation in which the atmosphere of the game could be reversed again. However, Lee Jae-hak kept the lead by thinning the Jihoon Choi with a double play to shortstop.

Although he was hit by a timely double by Han Yu-seom in the fourth inning with two outs and a runner on first base, he ended the fourth inning without additional runs. Then, in the fifth inning, after one out, he gave up a walk to Kim Sung-hyun again. Oh Taegon's at-bat. Lee Jae-hak faced a dizzying situation. Oh Tae-gon's line drive came right back to Lee Jae-hak and hit his right hand.

Lee Jae-hak, who was hit by a ball on the back of his hand, froze as it was and failed to make follow-up moves quickly. However, Lee Jae-hak barely checked the ball that fell right in front of him and threw with all his might to the first base. The infield hit made it one out and runners on first and second base with two outs. Afterwards, Lee Jae-hak headed straight to the hospital, supported by his trainer. As Kim Young-kyu, who followed, ended the inning, Lee Jae-hak's one out count with fighting spirit came as a big achievement.

Eventually, Lee Jae-hak became the winning pitcher with a 7-6 victory. Lee Jae-hak's first win in nine postseason games. After the game, Lee Jae-hak enjoyed joy with his hands raised in the dugout. The pain hadn't gone away yet, but smiles were rampant on his face.

"I really wanted to finish the inning," he said of the situation after the injury, explaining the situation in which he threw without even holding the ball properly. Due to severe pain in the back of his hand, Lee Jae-hak originally failed to utilize the index and middle fingers of throwing the ball. He explained to reporters that he grabbed the ball with his ring finger and possession and threw it.

"It actually hurt so much," he said. I couldn't move my hands. However, Hochul (Seo) made a big call from the side. So he said, "I threw it with the thought of 'this must be out,' but the throw went to simulate it." The situation of 1st and 2nd bases with 1 out and 2nd base with 2 outs was clearly different, so Lee Jae-hak's fighting spirit made one out valuable.

Fortunately, the results of the examination are bruised. It is fortunate that he received no abnormalities in his bones, but it remains to be seen whether he will take the mound in the playoff series against KT. However, Lee Jae-hak will want to wash away the regret and resentment of failing to enter the entry three years ago. I don't want to end the fall of NC's most winning native ace. 스포츠토토