Doosan acquires pitcher Hatch who pitched in MLB and Japan One-two punch with Irvin
Doosan acquires pitcher Hatch who pitched in MLB and Japan One-two punch with Irvin
Blog Article
The professional baseball team Doosan Bears has recruited Thomas Hatch (30), who has experience in the American Major League Baseball (MLB) and Japanese Professional Baseball (NPB).
Doosan announced on the 19th, "We signed a contract with Haechi for a total of 1 million dollars (signing bonus of 200,000 dollars, annual salary of 800,000 dollars)."
Hatch, an American citizen, is a right-handed pitcher who is 185 cm tall and weighs 91 kg.
Hatch, who was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the third round (104th overall) of the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft, stood on the major league mound for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2020.
His MLB career record is 39 games, 4 wins, 4 losses, 6 holds, and an ERA of 4.96.
In Toronto, he also played with Ryu Hyun-jin (Hanwha Eagles).
Ahead of the 2024 season, competition between Korean and Japanese clubs to recruit Hatch is heating up.
Hatch's choice was the Japanese Hiroshima Toyo Carp.
The maximum salary for new foreign players in the KBO League (including signing bonus) is $1 million.
Hiroshima signed Hatch for $1.3 million.
In Hiroshima, Hatch had a poor performance with 3 losses and an ERA of 7.36 in 5 appearances in the first team. His NPB second team record was 5 wins, 4 losses, and an ERA of 2.36 in 15 appearances.
Due to his poor performance in Japan, Hatch's 'price' dropped slightly, and Doosan signed him for $1 million.
A Doosan official said, "Haechi is a pitcher who can throw a fastball 파워볼 with a top speed of 154 km/h, a slider, a cut fastball, a changeup, and a sinker all in the strike zone," adding, "His control is stable, so we can expect him to pitch long innings."
Although he is a hot-tempered player who has been fined for expressing dissatisfaction with referee decisions in Japan, Doosan took notice of Haechi's talent.
Doosan signed left-handed pitcher Cole Irvin for $1 million ($200,000 signing bonus, $800,000 annual salary) ahead of Hatch.
Irvin has a career MLB record of 28 wins, 40 losses, 2 holds, and an ERA of 4.54 in 134 games.
This year, he appeared in 29 major league games (16 as a starter) and recorded 6 wins, 6 losses, 1 hold, and an ERA of 5.11.
This season, Doosan finished the regular season in 4th place.
The number of wins accumulated by foreign pitchers was 13, the fewest among the 10 teams.
Doosan re-signed Raul Alcantara for $1.5 million and Brandon Waddell for $1.13 million ahead of the 2024 season, but both pitchers struggled with injuries.
In this Stove League, Doosan put a lot of effort into recruiting foreign pitchers and quickly recruited two foreign pitchers that other teams were also interested in.