Eagles set KBO strikeout record
Hanwha Eagles starter Cody Ponce celebrates after notching his Korea Baseball Organization record 226th strikeout of the season against the NC Dinos at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark in Daejeon, Sept. 3. Courtesy of the Eagles
The Hanwha Eagles have set a South Korean baseball record for most strikeouts by a team in a season.
Through Sunday's action in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), the Eagles had 1,219 strikeouts, topping the previous mark of 1,199 set by the Lotte Giants in 2022.
Leading the way for the Eagles are their top two starters, Cody Ponce and Ryan Weiss.
Ponce broke the single-season record on Sept. 3 by surpassing the previous record of 225 by Ariel Miranda in 2021. Ponce leads the KBO with 236 strikeouts.
Weiss is fourth overall with 185 Ks, already three more than the league-leading total from last season by then NC Dinos pitcher Kyle Hart.
Another starter, Moon Dong-ju, has 130 strikeouts in 117 1/3 innings, while veteran starter Ryu Hyun-jin has contributed 109 strikeouts over 128 1/3 frames.
Reliever Jeong Woo-joo has struck out 72 in only 45 2/3 innings, for an eye-popping rate of 14.19 strikeouts per nine innings — more than both Ponce and Weiss.
Closer Kim Seo-hyeon has also struck out more than a batter per inning, with 66 Ks in 60 innings.
Not surprisingly, the Eagles are leading the league with 9.28 strikeouts per nine innings, nearly one full strikeout better than the next team, SSG Landers.
The Eagles also have the lowest team ERA in the KBO at 3.53, and the lowest walks and hits per inning pitched with 1.28. They own the second-lowest opponents' on-base plus slugging with .682, behind only the Landers' .681.
The Eagles are in second place in the standings with a win-loss-tie record of 76-53-3, 3 1/2 games behind the first-place LG Twins with 12 games left. They are on their way to their first postseason since 2018.