First in Korean Professional Baseball
Downgraded to the second team twice this year for poor pitching.
Lowered his ERA to under one in September
Recorded his 500th career save in June.
Baseball's Samsung's closer Oh Seung-hwan (R) is congratulated by catcher Kang Min-ho after achieving his 400th career save during the final home game of the season against SSG on Thursday.
"There was definitely pressure on the record, and I was conscious of it."
Oh Seung-hwan (41-Samsung) said after becoming the first pitcher in the Korean Baseball Organization to record 400 career saves in a game against SSG on Thursday. "I didn't admit it, but I was thinking about when the record would come," he added. Oh Seung-hwan, the "stone-faced" pitcher, was also bothered by the long ninth inning. And for good reason. On Friday, Oh pitched one scoreless inning to preserve a 3-1 win over Hanwha, earning his 399th career save. Samsung had six games left. However, in the next four games, Samsung lost three in a row, and Oh's save opportunities were few and far between. Two more games to go. Seung-hwan Oh pitched the eighth inning against SSG on April 14, his last relief appearance of the season. The score was 4-3 with two outs and two runners on base. Seung-hwan Oh pitched one and a third scoreless innings and Samsung won 5-3. He escaped the ninth with his 400th save.
"I think it was more exciting to get the record in my last relief game," Oh said. "Today's save was the most memorable," he said of his 400th save.
When Oh started the season with 370 career saves, the odds weren't in his favor to reach 400. He hadn't been as dominant as he was in 2022, and his age (he's over 40) would be a hindrance. Oh had 31 saves in 2022, but his ERA was 3.32. He also hit eight home runs. It was the first time since returning to Korea in 2020 after stints in Japan and the United States that his ERA was under two. The eight home runs were the most since his debut in 2005.
From the start of the season until July, Oh had accumulated 13 saves in 32 games. He was sent down to the second team twice in between. The 400-save mark seemed far away. But in August, he started adding saves at a rapid pace and reached the milestone. Oh Seung-hwan added 10 saves in 13 games in August alone. He continued to improve, lowering his monthly ERA from three to five runs after the start of the season to one run in September. In October, he didn't allow a run in his first five appearances until the 14th.
Oh Seung-hwan had a late start to his professional career. After undergoing elbow ligament reconstruction surgery in his freshman year of high school, he switched from pitcher to catcher and was not selected by a professional team in the 2001 rookie draft. He went on to play at Dankook University and was selected by Samsung four years later in the 2005 rookie draft. In his first year, Oh impressed with a 10-1 record and 16 saves, winning the rookie of the year award. In his second year, he recorded 47 saves, which remains the most in franchise history.
The power of Oh's 400 saves can be seen in the difference between him and the second-place finisher in the category. He is 129 saves away from second-place Son Seung-rak (271 saves-retired). He is more than 200 saves away from the next best active player, Hanwha's Jung Woo-ram (197 saves). Seung-hwan Oh's 400 saves will be hard to surpass for the foreseeable future. Oh, who has also played in Japanese and American professional baseball, reached 500 career saves in the Korean-American and Japanese leagues on June 6 of this year. He recorded 80 saves in two seasons in Japan and 42 saves in four seasons in the United States.
With his save against SSG on June 14, Oh recorded 30 or more saves in a season for the third consecutive year and the eighth time in his career. He has also recorded 40 or more saves four times, including 47 in 2006 and 2011.
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