Manager for struggling KBO team encouraged by rookie's latest outing
Doosan Bears starter Choi Min-seok pitches against the Samsung Lions during a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, July 1. Courtesy of the Doosan Bears
Amid what has been a lost year after two consecutive trips to the postseason in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), the Doosan Bears have not had much to cheer about in 2025.
Interim manager Cho Sung-hwan, though, has found a silver lining for a team stuck in ninth place among 10 clubs -- in the form of rookie pitcher Choi Min-seok.
A 16th-overall pick by the Bears at last year's draft, Choi had a strong outing in a losing effort against the Samsung Lions on Tuesday — the eve of his 19th birthday.
The right-hander threw a career-high seven innings and gave up just two earned runs. Both of those runs came via Kang Min-ho's two-run homer, and after that dinger, Choi retired 15 straight batters.
He then gave up consecutive one-out hits in the seventh before escaping the jam by getting Kang to bounce into a double play.
Choi's teammates gave him zero run support, as they dropped the game 4-1 after scoring their lone run in the ninth.
Choi is now 1-2 with a 3.03 ERA over seven outings, including five starts.
"He's our ace now. I think we have a really good starting pitcher on our hand," Cho said with a smile, before hosting the Lions at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul. "I've seen him pitch in relief but I think he's clearly better suited for the starter's job. It can bring out the best in him and he has proven he can maintain his strength deep into games."
In particular, Cho said he was impressed with the way Choi focused on executing his pitches, instead of worrying about his opponents.
"Whereas other pitchers may worry about not getting hit, he understands that pitching to contact helps him," Cho said. "He has been efficient with his pitch counts and he has a lot of strengths that other pitchers don't possess."
Choi only struck out two batters Tuesday — his career high for a game is four — while inducing 10 groundouts.
Cho said the next step for Choi is to respond well once opposing teams adjust to his style.
"Teams will try to figure out how to beat him and we'll see how he handles that," Cho continued. "For now, he's been making his pitches."
That a teenage rookie is considered a staff ace says a great deal about the state of pitching for the Bears, who rank eighth in the KBO in the rotation ERA with 4.69.
Cole Irvin, a former big league starter who joined the Bears this season, has been emblematic of the team's pitching woes. The left-hander is 5-7 with a 4.76 ERA and has not won since May 5. He even had a stint in the minors last month.
Irvin will try to snap his personal five-game losing streak Wednesday night.
"We'll just have to wait for him to turn it around," Cho said. "There have been outings where he had good command but got knocked around, and starts where he didn't have command at all. At this point, we just have to trust him on the mound."