After strong year, Yang hoping for better 2015

INCHEON (Yonhap) ― South Korean pitcher Yang Hyeon-jong, who was honored as the top homegrown hurler in the nation’s top league last year, said Friday he is hoping for an even better season in 2015, both for himself and for his pitching brethren.

Yang and his Korea Baseball Organization club, the Kia Tigers, left for their spring training site in Okinawa, Japan, on Friday. Speaking to reporters at Incheon International Airport, Yang said he wants to improve on his 2014 season.

The 26-year-old led all South Koreans with 16 wins and 165 strikeouts.

American Andy Van Hekken led the league with 20 wins while Rick van den Hurk, a Dutchman, topped the competition with 180 strikeouts.

Yang did receive the inaugural Choi Dong-won Award, named after a former All-Star pitcher and presented to the best South Korean pitcher based on key statistics. Yang insisted he won’t settle for anything else in 2015.

“It hurt my pride as a Korean baseball player (that foreign pitchers led major categories),” he said.

“I think the competition will be even more intense this year than the last. I will try to lower my ERA (from 4.25) and eat up a lot of innings.”

It wasn’t the most memorable of seasons for Yang and all the other pitchers. Offensive numbers were off the charts, with the nine teams scoring an all-time high 6,477 runs and belting 1,162 home runs, the second-highest total ever.

The league-wide ERA was 5.21 while the teams collectively batted .289, both all-time records.

Yang, for one, wants to see the reversal of the trend.

“I’d like to see better pitching overall this year,” he said.

“As a pitcher, I was embarrassed to see the hitters pick up all those year-end awards. I want to take the stage and pick up those trophies this year.”

Aside from missing out on awards, Yang had another disappointing experience in the offseason.

The Tigers posted their prized left-hander for major league teams, but when the silent auction closed, they refused to accept the winning bid, thus keeping Yang and the bid winner ― whose identity was never disclosed ― from even starting contract talks.

The Tigers’ reasoning was that they weren’t satisfied with the amount of the bid. Instead, they gave Yang a hefty raise and signed him for 400 million won ($371,600). He made 120 million won in 2014.

Yang admitted he was discouraged that he never got the chance to pursue his big league dreams, but the Tigers’ brass helped him put such disappointment behind him and get ready for the new season.

Entering his ninth KBO season, Yang said he is feeling a growing sense of responsibility as a veteran.

“I think it’s important for me to play ‘well,’ as opposed to just playing ‘hard,’” he added.

“It’s been six years since we last won the championship. We may not be considered a contender, but we should use that as our fuel and try to prove people wrong.”