It is the best ever. Eom Sang-baek (28), KT Wiz’s “Promising FA,” shook off his poor performance of eight runs in the previous game in his first appearance in September, and switched to an upward mode.
Um Sang-baek started the game against the NC Dinos in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 11th and recorded five hits, two outs and four strikeouts in five innings. KT beat NC 2-1 with a solid mound consisting of Um Sang-baek, Woo Kyu-min (⅔ innings scoreless), Kim Min (⅓ innings scoreless), Son Dong-hyun (two innings scoreless), and Park Young-hyun (one run in one inning).
Um Sang-baek, who collapsed with eight runs in five ⅔ innings against the LG Twins on August 30, the previous mound, showed a different appearance in 12 days. Um Sang-baek, who took the mound in the top of the first inning, got off to a good start by striking out NC table setters Park Min-woo and Kim Joo-won in succession.
With two outs, Eom slightly slowed down. He allowed consecutive hits to right field to Matt Davidson and Kim Hui-jip, putting him in crisis at the first and second bases. However, he managed to wrap up the first inning well by dealing with Seo Ho-cheol’s grounder to the shortstop. Meanwhile, KT’s Jang Sung-ho’s two-run shot at the bottom of the first inning helped ease Eom’s burden.
In the second inning, Um walked Park Se-hyuk, a double off the left field, causing crisis of first and second bases with no outs. However, he garnered Kim Sung-wook with an infield fly, Choi Jeong-won with a grounder to the shortstop, and Park Min-woo with a grounder to the second base, continuing his scoreless streak. He was the most stable in the third inning. Um led Kim Joo-won, Davidson, and Kim Hwi-jip with strikeouts, a fly ball, and a fly ball to record three-out innings for the first time and the last time in the game.
In the fourth inning, Um gave up consecutive hits to Seo Ho-cheol and Park Jin-hwan, putting them on the first and second bases again. NC started to shake the ball by making runners on the second and third bases with one out through Park Se-hyuk’s sacrifice bunt. However, Um kept the ball to the infield again this time. He targeted Kim Seong-wook with a fly ball to the second base and Choi Jeong-won with a ground ball to the first base, sending NC into a frustration.
In the fifth inning, Um grounded out Park Min-woo to the first base, struck out Davison, and grounded out Kim Hwi-jip to the shortstop, satisfying the requirements for a winning pitcher. NC successfully stole second base by walking Kim Joo-won after one out, but it was not enough to block Um from running. After completing five innings, Um handed over the baton to Woo Gyu-min in the sixth inning and left the mound. As the broadcasting team secured the victory, Um secured his 12th win of this season. 스포츠토토
After the game against NC Dinos, Um has 12 wins and 10 losses with 151 strikeouts and an ERA of 5.17 (84 earned runs in 146 ⅓ innings) in 27 games. Considering wins, strikeouts and innings, Um is having the best season since his debut.
Eom’s 12 wins and 151 strikeouts this season are all different from his record of 11 wins and 139 strikeouts in a single season in 2022. Both wins and strikeouts rank No. 1 in his team, while he is tied for third in multiple wins and seventh in strikeouts in the entire league.
In addition, he played 146 ⅓ innings in 133 games, achieving the required number of innings early on and proving his durability. He is still in his late 20s and has abundant experience in both starting and pitching, which can give him extra points.
However, it is a completely different story when he focuses on losing, ERA and homeruns (26). Um has been remarkably shaken, recording his first double-digit loss since his debut, and remaining in the 5-point ERA for the first time since his discharge from Sangmu in 2021.
Notably, his record of number of homers is not very good. Having thrown 111 ⅔ innings last year and given up just six homers, Um disgraced himself as No. 1 in the league with four times the number of homers this year. If wins, strikeouts and innings are career-high, losses, ERA and homeruns are all close to career-low.
Eom Sang-baek’s ambivalence between extremes has led to his extreme rollercoaster temperament. As Eom, dubbed the “biggest fish in the FA,” has displayed fluctuating pitching throughout the season, all 10 teams including his KT team have become confused ahead of the decision. The value of Eom is also expected to show a difference of more than a few billion won depending on which team he focuses on evaluating.