Description
The pitcher, who had no big league experience, took on a new challenge in an unfamiliar land, and achieved his much-wanted goal after going back to the U.S. Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Merrill Kelly, one of the representative examples of KBO reverse export myths, is the main character.
Arizona beat the Texas Rangers 9-1 in Game 2 of the 2023 U.S. Major League Baseball postseason World Series (WS, best-of-seven) at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas on the 29th. The series record was one win and one loss.
As the team's loss in Game 1 increased the importance of Game 2, Kelly's shoulders, who took on the heavy starting role on the day, also became heavy. But Ace gave the team the victory. Kelly, who took the mound with pressure and responsibility, blocked the Texas lineup and won his first World Series appearance as he recorded three hits (one homer) and nine strikeouts and one run in seven innings. This is the 10th time in the history of the Major League Baseball postseason that he has struck out more than nine without a walk while pitching seven innings.
Every baseball player often imagines taking the World Series stage at least once. It was like a dream for Kelly, who has honed his skills for more than a decade.
Kelly, who was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays with the 251st overall pick in the eighth round in 2010, stayed in the minor leagues for five years until 2014. He went up to Triple-A in 2013, but failed to make his big league debut. Kelly's career minor league performance between 2010 and 2014 was 39 wins and 26 losses in 125 games with a 3.40 ERA.
Kelly, who did, decided to continue her career in Korea, not the United States.
Kelly played for the Durham Bulls, a Triple-A team under Tampa Bay, and learned about KBO League and Korean life from Lee Hak-joo (Lotte) and Duck Mathis (former Samsung), and joined hands with the SK Wyverns (now SSG Landers). The total amount of the contract is $350,000 (a down payment of $100,000 and an annual salary of $250,000. The SK club explained that Kelly, who plays various breaking balls, has good game management ability and ball movement.
Even though SK had not experienced the big league, they expected Kelly's ability to show through Triple-A in 2013 and 2014. And in 2015, the first year of the KBO, Kelly met the team's expectations with 11 wins and 10 losses in 181 innings and an ERA of 4.13, and even renewed his contract.
Kelly, who succeeded in soft landing in the KBO League, threw more than 180 innings every season for three years with 9 wins and 8 losses in 200 ⅓ innings in 31 games in 2016 and a 3.68 ERA in 190 innings in 30 games in 2017. In 2018, in his fourth year, he also showed his true value with 12 wins and 7 losses in 158 ⅓ innings and an ERA of 4.09 in 28 games, and contributed to his team's victory in the Korean Series by playing in the playoffs (one hold ERA of 4.05 in six ⅔ innings in two games) and the Korean Series (one win and an ERA of 2.19 in 12 ⅓ innings in two games).
Kelly, who completed verification in the KBO League with a career record of 49 games and 729 ⅔ innings with a 3.86 ERA in 119 games (regular season), was caught on the radar network of overseas club scouts. Kelly, who had been waiting for the day to take the mound in the big league, headed to the U.S. after achieving his goal of winning the championship, which both the team and the player themselves were desperate for. The club that reached out to him was Arizona, and both sides signed a 2+2 year contract.
Kelly, who didn't want to miss the opportunity that came to him, has been active since his first season in the big league. While playing a season without major injuries, he played one of the pillars of Arizona's starting lineup with 13 wins, 14 losses and a 4.42 ERA in 183 ⅓ innings in 32 games. In 2020, when the season was shortened in the aftermath of Corona 19, he had three wins and two losses in 31 ⅓ innings in five games and a 2.59 ERA.
Arizona exercised its club options after the end of the 2020 season, and Arizona and Kelly continued to accompany. Kelly, who received an annual salary of $2 million in 2019 and $3 million in 2020, will take $4.25 million in the 2021 season and $5.25 million in the 2022 season. 스포츠토토
Kelly showed off his robustness even after the club's options were implemented. He stood tall as an ace representing not only the team but also the league with 7 wins and 11 losses in 158 innings, 4.44 ERA in 27 games and 13 wins and 8 losses in 200 ⅓ innings last year with a 3.37 ERA in 33 games. In April last year, he gradually raised his stock price over time, agreeing to a two-year total of $18 million and an extension contract. Not only in Korea but also in the United States, Kelly was noted as a "KBO reverse export case."
Kelly, who did his part this season, took the team's one-two punch with Jack Gallen in 177 ⅔ innings with 12 wins and eight losses and a 3.29 ERA in 30 games, and has a 3-1 record in 24 innings and a 2.25 ERA in the postseason, including Game 2 of the World Series against Texas on the 29th. Kelly is playing his first postseason since his big league debut, but he is faithfully performing the role given with the best pitch in each game.
With his team Arizona aiming to win the World Series for the first time in 22 years since 2001, there is a possibility that Kelly will be given another chance to start at the current trend. Attention is focusing on what kind of ending Kelly and Arizona, who want a happy ending, will face this fall.