“Japan is a bullpen, but Korea is a starter.”

Birch Smith, the new foreign pitcher of the Hanwha Eagles, signed a contract for a total of 1 million dollars (down payment of 100,000 dollars, annual salary of 700,000 dollars, and incentives of 200,000 dollars). He appeared in 20 games last season with the Seibu Lions of the Japanese professional baseball team and threw 38⅓ innings, recording 1 win토토사이트, 4 holds, 1 save and an earned run average of 3.29. His performance in Japan was not bad, and even though he was offered a new contract, Smith said he chose Korea.

Smith said that the reason he changed his direction to Hanwha rather than Japan was because of his job position. Smith met with reporters on the 11th (Korean time) and said, “In Japan, I expected to be a bullpen pitcher rather than a starter. But in Korea, I was happy to be given the opportunity to become a starting pitcher.” He said, “I will do my best. If I go out as a starter, I can prepare by focusing on my routine.”

There was a theory that Smith came to Hanwha even though Japan offered 1.5 million dollars. He asked if he gave up $1.5 million because of the selection.

“It wasn’t a total of $1.5 million. It was close to that,” Smith said frankly. “It was more of an incentive contract than a guaranteed amount.” In the end, Smith chose Hanwha because Hanhwa guaranteed the starting pitcher he wanted and the guaranteed amount was high.

On this day, Smith pitched live with Choi Jae-hoon and other hitters standing. He shot a maximum of 150 km and threw 26 with a mix of fastballs, two-seams, curveballs, sliders, and changeups.