Lotte Giants closer Kim Won-joong had two trademarks: shoulder-length long hair and tap dance pitching. 

Kim rolls his right foot on the pitcher's plate and his left foot forward as if he is dancing, before throwing the ball. In the process, he can be suspected as a balk because his movement to stop is short. However, such a unique mechanism has helped deprive the opponent of the timing. Kim once said, "At first, I tried to put my foot on the pitcher's plate, but it had an unexpected effect." 메이저사이트

It seems that Kim needs to change his routine this season. This is because "Pitch Clock," which was operated on a trial basis in 2024, will be officially introduced in the 2025 season. The Korea Baseball Organization has already announced detailed rules, including fixing the interval between pitches for pitchers at 20 seconds when there is no runner and 25 seconds when there is a runner. If the rules are violated, the pitcher will be given a ball and the batter will be given a strike. 

Kim's pitching interval is rather long. He violated the rule 154 times during the 2024 season. In the game against the LG Twins on April 17, he violated the rule six times only at bat in Shin Min-jae. 

The KBO announced that it will reduce the overtime operation from the previous 12 to 11 innings starting this season, saying, "We considered that the implementation of pitch clock could increase the physical consumption of pitchers." "We agree on the need to introduce a system for the cause of reducing game time, but it is clear that pitchers will be under a lot of stress," said a head of a team in the Seoul metropolitan area. As such, the introduction of pitch clock is a variable that will greatly affect the operation of the mound. 

Not only Kim Won-joong but also other Lotte pitchers are in urgent need of adaptation to the pitch clock. During the 2024 season, Lotte players violated the pitch clock 1247 times, the most among the 10 teams. Pitcher violations were the most at 831 times. Notably, he recorded 673 times with runners on the ground. As a result, Lotte's average game time was the longest at 3 hours and 16 minutes. 

Lotte is preparing not only for its coaching staff but also for its individual players to introduce Peach Clocks. "We check the routines of our players, and we encourage them not to feel anxious from the moment they start pitching in the bullpen," said Lotte's main pitching coach Joo Hyung-kwang. "It is true that the obsession with the limited time can affect a pitcher. However, in baseball, since pitching can proceed only when a pitcher throws a ball, we will study how to create an advantageous situation in the timing fight," Joo said. "The introduction of Peach Clocks does not only have disadvantages." 

Kim Won-joong also expressed confidence in his adjustment to the pitch clock. "It might not have been obvious, but I consciously reduced the pitch interval in preparation for the pitch clock in my last game (against the NC Dinos on October 1). I didn't feel bad at the time. I hope (Lotte fans) don't worry about it because I can adapt well." 

"I don't think there would have been any problems even if the Peach Clock was implemented since last year," said Park Se-woong, "Korea's ace player. He hardly violated the law," but added, "Time could pass while checking the batter's preparation status. We will prepare in various ways." 

The role of the catcher to breathe with the pitcher has grown even more. "Last year was a trial run period for the (Pitch Clock) team, so we made sure pitchers' routines were not swayed. As our team (Lotte) violated many times, we will thoroughly prepare for it," said Yoo Kang-nam, Lotte's main catcher. After failing to complete the 2024 season due to his injury, he is also learning how to use Pitchcom, a device for exchanging signs between pitchers and catchers, which was introduced in the second half of last year. 

After failing to advance to the postseason for the last seven consecutive seasons, Lotte is renewing its commitment to make another leap forward. Adapting to the pitch clock is a task that cannot be ignored. On the field, Lotte said in unison, "No problem."