Japanese media expressed deep interest in the move of Raul Alcantara, a Dominican pitcher who succeeded in reviving in Korea.
Japanese baseball media “Full Count” said on the 21st, “Alcantara, who struggled in the Hanshin Tigers, has been revived in the KBO League,” adding, “Alcantara recorded 13 wins, 9 losses and a 2.66 ERA in the Doosan Bears in the KBO League this season.”
Doosan officially announced the renewal of contracts between Alcantara and Brandon Waddell, two foreign pitchers who played as one-two punch in the 2023 season. Alcantara signed a total of 1.5 million U.S. dollars, including 500,000 dollars in down payment, 800,000 dollars in annual salary, and 200,000 dollars in incentives.
Alcantara was one of the best aces in the KBO league this year. He started 31 games and pitched 192 innings, recording 13 wins and nine losses with an ERA of 2.67. He performed the role that Doosan had been expecting.
Detailed indicators were also outstanding. He pitched the most innings in the entire KBO League in the 2023 season and ranked first in this category with 22 starts in quality. He also scored long innings in every starting pitcher and showed excellent performance in preventing minimum number of runs.
Alcantara did not have a relationship with the title this season as NC Dinos foreign pitcher Eric Pedi (20 wins, 6 losses, 2.00 209 strikeouts in 180 ⅓ innings in 30 games) won the triple crown, including multiple wins, ERA and strikeouts, but there is no doubt that he is the best pitcher.
It proved that it was no coincidence that he won the Golden Glove in the pitcher category, winning the most wins, winning percentage, and winning the Golden Glove with 20 wins, 2 losses, and 2.54 ERA in 31 games and 198 ⅔ innings in the 2020 season.
Alcantara had a rough time playing for the Hanshin Tigers in the Japanese professional baseball league in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. After the end of the 2020 season, he shook off Doosan`s desire to renew his contract and started a new challenge at Hanshin, but the result was not good enough. In Japan, where batters are better than those in the KBO league, it was difficult to achieve huge success with just fast balls that easily exceeded 150 kilometers.
Alcantara started the regular season as a starting pitcher in the 2021 season, but was pushed out to the bullpen due to sluggish performance. He seemed to have displayed good performance with three wins, three losses and a 3.49 ERA in 59 ⅓ innings in 24 games, but it was not what he expected from a foreign pitcher.
Alcantara faced even more difficulties in the 2022 season. His contract with Hanshin failed as he only had one win, three losses and one save and 17 holds ERA of 4.70 in 38 ⅓ in 39 games. Hanshin, who invested a total of 4 million U.S. dollars for Alcantara over the two-year period, did not hold Alcantara back.
Doosan, which needed an ace at this time, sent a love call to Alcantara. Alcantara also decided to return Doosan, which had the best moment of his career.
Alcantara has been showing off her sharp pitching since the Sydney spring camp in February, satisfying Doosan coach Lee Seung-yeop and other coaching staff. Alcantara was also very happy to play for Doosan again.
At the end of the spring camp, Alcantara said, “I think I am the son of Doosan and I want to remain a filial son (at Doosan). I will stay at home calmly from now on,” expressing his desire to stay with the Bears for a long time.
Alcantara has become a filial piety pitcher just like he promised. He showed exactly what the coaching staff had expected in the regular season, and played a critical role in Doosan’s advance to the postseason.
During the closing camp last month, Lee said, “Alcantara threw the most innings and pitched the most quality start pitching in the KBO League this year. There is no reason not to renew his contract,” and he will continue his contract next year.
“Full Count” said, “Alcantara made his KBO league debut with the KT Wiz in 2019 and moved to Doosan in 2020, leaving a good record of 20 wins, 2 losses and 2.53 ERA,” adding, “He moved to Hanshin in 2021 and recorded 4 wins, 6 losses, 1 save, and 25 holds with a 3.96 ERA in 63 games over the past two years.”
“Alcantara received an annual salary of $900,000 (about 1.17 billion won) when he returned to the Doosan Bears in the KBO League this season,” he said. “It was less than half of the estimated $4 million that Hanshin had received over the past two years, but he succeeded in renewing his contract by ranking fourth in the league in wins and third in strikeouts.”
The Hanshin Tigers have recruited foreign players who have shown outstanding performances in the KBO League almost every year, but have not had much fun recently. Mel Rojas Jr., who dominated the KBO League with a batting average of 0.349 (192 for 550) with 47 homers and 135 RBIs for KT in 2020, played for Hanshin in 2021 and 2022, but failed to renew his contract.
Mel Rojas Jr. had a batting average of 0.217 (41 hits in 189 times at bat) with eight homers and 21 RBIs in 60 games in the 2021 season. He struggled against Japanese pitchers, who boasted sharper ball power and more sophisticated ball control than Korea. 랭크카지노
Mel Rojas Jr.`s 2022 season was also disastrous. He had a batting average of 0.224 (41 hits in 183 times at bat) in 89 games, nine homers and 27 RBIs, failing to adapt to the Japanese pro baseball and renewing his contract.
Mel Rojas Jr. played in the Mexican League for the 2023 season and returned to his former KBO League team KT for the 2024 season. Although it was a year later than Alcantara, he returned to a place where he had good memories of his career’s peak.