‘Highest 155km’ Hanwha recruits Smith with Japanese baseball experience… Total $1 million

The Hanwha Eagles have recruited foreign pitcher Burch Smith.

On the 18th, the Hanwha Eagles officially announced that they had signed a contract with Smith for up to $1 million, including a down payment of $100,000, an annual salary of $700,000, and an incentive of $200,000.

Smith, an American national born in 1990, is a right-handed pitcher who uses a variety of pitches such as slider, curve, and changeup based on his tall (193 cm) fastball with a maximum speed of 155 km/h.

He made his major league debut with San Diego in 2013 and played for five seasons through Kansas City, Milwaukee, San Francisco, and 메이저놀이터 Oakland until 2021. His career major league record was 5-11 with 184 strikeouts and an earned run average of 6.03 (191 innings) in 102 appearances.

In the US Minor League, he played 7 seasons, recording 83 games, 27 wins, 18 losses, 412 strikeouts, and an average ERA of 3.34 (382⅓ innings).

In 2022, he also experienced Asian baseball by playing for Seibu, a Japanese professional baseball team. In Seibu, he appeared in 20 games and recorded 1 win, 4 holds, 1 save, 37 strikeouts, and an average ERA of 3.29 (38⅓ innings).

General manager Son Hyuk said, “Smith is a fireballer-type starting resource, and he is a pitcher who can be entrusted with the first starting role. He has experience in Asian baseball, so he is expected to easily adapt to the KBO league.” He explained that he is a player who pitches stably regardless of the left and right batters by putting the pitch type and rapid control at the forefront.”

Next, general manager Son Hyuk said, “We recruited Smith because we needed a first-class player who could overwhelm opponent hitters. Smith has a style of attacking batters with pitches and has excellent strikeout skills. We expect Smith’s strengths like this to be of great help to the defense. “he added.

Smith is scheduled to join Spring Camp, Arizona, USA in February 2023.

Following the renewal of the contract with Felix Pena, the Hanwha Eagles, who recruited Smith, are planning to finish the contract for the remaining single foreign player as soon as possible.