Samsung‘s Bae Chan-seung Dominates in Postseason Debut,Earns National Team Consideration
incheon,South Korea – Rookie pitcher Bae Chan-seung is rapidly establishing himself as a force in Korean baseball,delivering a stunning postseason performance for the Samsung Lions and drawing attention from national team selectors. The 21-year-old struck out four of the five batters he faced in the bottom of the 8th inning of Game 2 of the KBO semi-playoffs against the SSG Landers on October 11th, earning the moniker “5 batters 4K” from Korean media.
bae Chan-seung’s emergence has been remarkable since his high school days at Daegu High School, where he garnered notable attention and ultimately won the Star Award in the baseball category at the 2023 ‘Futures Star Awards’ selected by Star News. This season, he appeared in 65 regular season games, posting a 2-3 record with 19 holds and a 3.91 ERA. He remained a consistent presence in the Samsung bullpen, spending 197 consecutive days on the first team roster.
The rookie demonstrated noticeable improvement throughout the year, boasting a 3.12 ERA and .190 opponent batting average in the second half of the season, compared to a 4.32 ERA and .292 opponent batting average in the first. On August 27th, in a game against the Doosan Bears in Jamsil, Bae chan-seung recorded a career-high fastball velocity of 158 km/h.
His success has carried over into the postseason. Bae Chan-seung made his playoff debut in the wild card game against the NC Dinos on October 6th, recording 2 strikeouts and no runs in one inning with a 153 km/h fastball.
“It’s his first postseason, and he has been distributing his skills differently for his age,” saeid Samsung manager Park Jin-man. “He showed more stable pitching than in the season,so he seems to have shown the ability to exert great power in the bullpen. I’m looking forward to more games in the future.”
Following his wild card game appearance, Bae Chan-seung expressed his excitement and determination. “The cheering was very different and I was nervous throughout the game, but it was a lot of fun,” he said. “As I was throwing, I became more cozy and just threw according to my style, and there were good results.” He added, “The bigger the game, the better I will show.”
