It is an era in which there are quite a few players who have exported from KBO to Major League and continued their successful careers. Among them, Merrill Kelly (35, Arizona Diamondbacks) is definitely the No. 1 player. MLB.com classified Kelly as the 34-year-old best player, citing the best player by age at this point on the 3rd (Korea time). 경마
Kelly, born in October 1988, is still 34 years old, strictly speaking. This season is also a good move with 10 wins, 6 losses and a 3.31 ERA in 24 games. He rested from the end of June to the end of July due to a calf injury and withdrew from the National League’s multiple wins race. In the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on the 30th of last month, he was sluggish with 12 hits, one strikeout, three walks and seven runs in five innings. Still, he played well with one win and one loss and a 3.57 ERA in six games in August.
Kelly recorded 48-32 losses and a 3.86 ERA in 119 games for the SK Wyverns in the KBO League from 2015 to 2018. He is also SK’s last Korean Series winner in 2018. Since then, he has signed a two-year, $5.5 million contract with Arizona, $9.5 million for two years, and $18 million for two years. A total of six-year, $33 million (about 43.7 billion won) contracts.
Kelly has been recognized for his ability, including being selected for the U.S. national team at this year’s World Baseball Classic. He is a pitcher who actually leads the team’s starting lineup along with ace Jack Gallen. He has the lowest ERA and hit rate (0.227) in the team, and the second-most innings (141.1 innings). WHIP (1.20) is also second best.
Already, he has won 46 games (41) in 121 games in the Major League. If this pace continues until the 2024 season, there is a good chance that he will hit more than a heavy hit in the 2024-2025 FA market. At this point, the $33 million contract looks very expensive.
“A player in this age group slowly weakens. It’s the time, age, when pitchers get hurt the most. In many ways, it’s the most nerve-racking time for a baseball player,” he said. Kelly, who is in his mid-30s, has not yet been absent for a long time due to injury.
