Seong-Hwan Oh, a Korean pitcher playing as closer for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan earned his 37th save in a home game against the Hiroshima Doyokaf at the Goshien Stadium in Hyogo-hyun, Japan. Oh is playing in his debut season of the NPB (Nippon Pro Baseball) and is highly likely to hold the most saves in the Central League.
Seong-Hwan Oh began his professional career with the Samsung Lions in Korea in 2005 and for a long time to this day is considered Korea’s best closer. In 2006 in a game with the Hyundai Unicorns, Oh earned his 47th save and this became the Asian pitcher with the most saves, breaking the records of Hitoki Iwase (Junichi Dragons) and Kyuji Huchikawa (Hanshin Tigers).
Despite having to go through Tommy John’s surgery in 2009 in the midst of his professional career, Oh continued to dominate the Korean league when his team was ahead and about to end the game. The closer was also reviewed by many scouts from the MLB (Major League Baseball) who had come all the way to Korea to see him pitch. It was reported that several MLB ball clubs had made specific offers to Oh who had become a Free Agent after the 2013 KBO (Korean Baseball Organization) season.
Oh however decided to join the Hanshin Tigers in Japan and became their new closer. He had the number 22 on his uniform which was originally used by the Tigers’ franchise star and former closer, Kyuji Huchikawa (now playing for the Chicago Cubs). Though he was not too explicit about what will happen after his contract with the Tigers expires, it is very likely Oh would want to continue his career in the Major Leagues along with Hyun-jin Ryu, who was the first KBO player to join an MLB ball club.
Seong-Hwan Oh is also likely to become the first Korean closer to have a 1 point ERA (Earned Runs Average) in his rookie season in the NPB. His ERA is currently 1.97.
Korean pitchers who moved to Japan to play in the NPB have shown rather stunning performances. Dong-yeol Sun, current manager of the Gwangju KIA Tigers (KBO) went to Japan as closer for the Junichi Dragons. He was the first Korean baseball player to ever have the chance to play for a non-Korean league and in his prime earned 38 saves. Another such player is Chang-Yong Lim who was closer for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows who in 2010 earned 35 saves, marking his career high. Lim later pitched for a season for the Chicago Cubs as a reliever but in 2014 returned to Korea to play for the Samsung Lions.
Meanwhile, Hyun-Jin Ryu, the Korean starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers is still recovering from his most recent shoulder injuries. The Dodgers became champions of the National League West Division and many experts are expecting Ryu to show good performance in the Division Series. Ryu and Seong-Hwan Oh had played together for the Korean national team in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
