By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
The Samsung Lions were convinced they had already seen the best of Lim Chang-yong at the end of last season. Fast forward to 2008 and the 32-year-old right-hander, somehow recovering the zip of his fastball, suddenly has a case for being one of the most dominant relievers on the planet.
Lim, now playing for Japan's Yakult Swallows after the Lions gave him the dandruffs-on-the-shoulder treatment, has yet to allow a run in 11 appearances during which he established himself as the team's closer.
He is currently fourth in the Central League with eight saves, and gave up six hits in 11 innings whiles striking out 10 hitters.
``Lim is not the player he was last year," said Lions starter Bae Young-soo, who had been Lim's teammate for eight seasons since 2000.
``Lim's stuff is just scary now. He has completely regained the fastball of his prime, which moves like a striking snake, and hitters are left clueless, swinging their bats when the ball has already touched the catcher's mitt," he said.
Signing Lim is so far proving a steal for the Swallows, who signed the South Korean for $300,000, the league minimum for foreign players.
Even the Swallows' front office wouldn't have predicted Lim's smooth start in a superior league in Japan, when he gave up 251 hits in just over 201 innings in a painful three-year stretch for the Lions that resulted in his off-season departure.
Now, Lim looks like one of the best pitchers not playing in the Major League Baseball (MLB) of the United States.
Of course, Lim is not finishing the season with a 0.00 ERA and opposing teams will get a better idea of his pitching habits after seeing him a few more times.
However, the pure nastiness of Lim's stuff, as one of the world's hardest throwing submariners, suggest that he is likely to remain as the late-innings savior for the Swallows.
Lim is basically a one-pitch pitcher, but his devastating fastball, regularly clocked at around 150kmph and topping at 156kmph, is usually all he needs for one or two innings.
Lim pitches like a Cuban, mixing speeds and changing arm angles to keep hitters off balance. Opponents come to the plate aware of Lim's famous heater, which he can throw from various angles between a sidearm slot and overhand slot, but often walk away shaking their heads missing a 145kmph curler.