Will Oh Seung-hwan (42, Samsung Lions), the "stone Buddha" who couldn't laugh this year, be able to save his pride in the 2025 season.메이저사이트

Oh Seung-hwan, who was called by Samsung as the fifth overall in the second round of the first round in 2005, is one of the "living legends" in name and reality. He has 44 wins, 33 losses, 427 saves and a 2.25 ERA in 726 KBO league games (794.2 innings). In 2006 and 2011, he earned 47 saves along with 4 wins, 3 losses, 1.59 ERA, and 1 win and 0.63 ERA, respectively, setting the record for the most saves in a season in Asia.

Oh continued to play overseas. Between 2014 and 2015, he played in 127 games (136 innings) with the Hanshin Tigers of the Japanese professional baseball league, recording four wins, seven losses, 12 holds, 80 saves, and an ERA of 2.25. Between 2016 and 2019, he played in 232 games (225.2 innings) in the U.S. Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, and Colorado Rockies, and posted 16 wins, 13 losses, 45 holds, 42 saves, and an ERA of 3.31. The total number of saves in Korea, the U.S., and Japan amounts to 549.

Based on his stellar performance, Oh showed off his presence at various international competitions including the 2006 World Baseball Classic and the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. However, he couldn't smile this year. Perhaps due to signs of time, he struggled while exposing his physical stamina.

He got off to a good start. He started the season as a closing pitcher as usual, and posted a record of 1-5 and 24-year-old ERA of 3.79 in 37 games (38 innings) in the first half.

Oh, however, has been on a shaky ground since July. He played in nine games (6.2 innings), but managed just one win, two losses and two saves with an earned run average of 12.15. He remained at one win, two losses and one save with an earned run average of 10.50 in seven games (6 innings) in August, and failed to rebound with a loss and two holds with an earned run average of 6.00 in seven games (6 innings) in September. Meanwhile, the closing position was Kim Jae-yoon, and Oh's performance in the 2024 season remained at 3-9 with 27 saves with an earned run average of 4.91, while he played in 58 games (55 innings). Blon saves were the most in the league with eight.

The struggle continued. Samsung, which ranked second in the regular league with 78 wins, two draws and 64 losses, advanced to the playoffs, but Oh failed to make the roster. "Oh has no plans to play in the playoffs," Samsung coach Park Jin-man said at the time. "If he visits the Korean Series, he will check his ball power and condition again."

Since then, Samsung has overtaken the LG Twins with a 3-1 series record in the playoffs to head to the Korean Series, where the KIA Tigers have been waiting, but Oh Seung-hwan's name was not found on the list again this time. This is why Oh Seung-hwan could not laugh even at Samsung's runner-up, which was considered weak before the opening.

After the end of the season, he suffered from an unexpected incident. This was the situation at the time. On the 6th, Samsung signed a four-year free agent contract with right-hander Choi Won-tae, who was active at LG, for a total of 7 billion won (2.4 billion won in down payment, 3.4 billion won in salary, and 1.2 billion won in incentives). Choi was rated A in the FA market, and Samsung had to hand over 200 percent of Choi's previous year's salary or 300 percent of his previous year's salary to LG according to regulations.

Naturally, keen attention was paid to Samsung's 20-man roster. Some predicted that Samsung might exclude Oh from the roster to protect its promising players.

"My opinion is that Oh should be included in the protected list. The final decision will be made by the team's CEO, but Oh will come with us," Samsung's general manager Lee Jong-yeol said, dismissing the controversy, saying, "Oh has been competitive this season as well. Considering his symbolism and skills, we believe he should be included in the protected list." Afterwards, the happening was concluded with LG's nomination of left-hander Choi Chae-heung.

Oh Seung-hwan, who had a rather bitter year, said, "The year 2025 is very important to him. It is the last year of the free agent contract (a two-year total of 2.2 billion won) that he signed after the end of the 2023 season. To be honest, if he fails to rebound in the 2025 season, a red light could be turned on for the extended period of his active career.

Samsung is also desperate for Oh's revival. This season, Samsung struggled due to bullpen sessions. As a result, the team struggled to strengthen its bullpen in the upcoming Stove League, but has yet to yield any significant results. If Oh shows off his robustness, Samsung will gain huge strength. How will Oh show off in the 2025 season.