Wins can be hard to come by for middle relievers, who do the grunt work, while starters and closers get more of the spotlight by picking up victories and saves.
LG Twins rookie reliever You Young-chan picked up his first career win in his 24th appearance Tuesday night, after tossing 1 2/3 shutout innings against the Lotte Giants in a 3-1 victory.
One may be tempted to say You is lucky to get the first win out of the way so early in his career. Dig a little deeper into his career, though, and you will see that the win was four years in the making.
You only made his Korea Baseball Organization this year, despite getting drafted in 2019. He also came out of college, rather than high school, and at 26, he is 2 1/2 years older than the Twins' top setup man Jung Woo-young, who was drafted in 2018 out of high school and then won the Rookie of the Year in 2019.
After Tuesday's outing, You sits 1-1 for the season with four holds and a 3.81 ERA. He will get some down ballot Rookie of the Year votes if he keeps it up.
You, however, isn't even the biggest favorite for the award on his own team. That designation belongs to the Twins' temporary closer Park Myung-geun.
Opportunities for young relievers like You and Park have opened up this season after All-Star closer Go Woo-suk went down with shoulder and back problems. And the two right-handers have made the most of it, with You coming in to protect late leads and Park having picked up five saves, along with four holds and a 2.61 ERA in 23 appearances.
You said he and Park are feeding off each other and enjoying their competition.
"Since we both made our debuts this year, I know we're drawing some comparisons," You said. "It fuels my competitive fire too. But I have a lot to learn from Myung-geun, so I've been trying to pick his brains when I can."
You entered Tuesday's game with two aboard at one out in the fourth inning and the score tied at 1-1. You walked the first batter he faced to load the bases but got out of the mess by inducing Han Dong-hui to bounce into a 1-2-3 double play.
You walked a clean top of the fifth inning, and the Twins went up 3-1 in the bottom half of that frame thanks to Hong Chang-ki's two-run single.
"I was fortunate to get this win today, after my teammates took care of business," You said. "I will try to build on this positive momentum."
You is still looking for his first save, though he may not get a lot of chances to do so with Park holding down the fort and Go on his way back. Twins manager Youm Kyoung-youb once said he felt Park had the mental makeup to be a closer, even at age 19, while You had more room for improvement in that regard.
Underneath You's gentle, soft-spoken facade lies a proud pitcher who wants to push himself in challenging situations.
"I'd love to get a save at some point," You said. "But for now, I just want to do the best I can in this current situation. I want to become a pitcher who can thrive in any type of role, no matter where I pitch." (Yonhap)
