Korean major leaguer Kim Ha-seong (27, San Diego Padres) had the best moment of his life on the 4th (Korean time). He hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth in a home game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. San Diego won a 5-4 come-from-behind victory with David Dahl’s solo shot and Kim Ha-sung’s closing home run.
The pitcher who hit Kim Ha-seong’s walk-off home run was Arizona’s new closer,안전놀이터 Scott McGuff. McGuff started 6 games for the Miami Marlins in 2015 and tasted a disastrous failure in the big leagues with an ERA of 9.45, but joined the Japanese professional baseball Yakult Swallows in 2019 and recorded 3 wins, 2 losses and 31 saves in 2021 with an ERA of 2.52, last year With 2 wins, 2 losses, 38 saves, and an average ERA of 2.35, he secured the back door and led the team to two consecutive victories in the Central League, receiving absolute support from Yakult fans. McGuff, who was literally Yakult’s ‘guardian’, made his major league comeback by signing a two-year, $6.25 million contract with Arizona ahead of this season.
He is also a closer at Arizona. In the match against the Los Angeles Dodgers on the 3rd, he finally tasted the thrilling moment of winning his first save since his major league debut. At the time, he held a 2–1 one-run lead while striking out one in ⅔ innings. McGuff, who recorded his first save in his major league debut, is having a happy day, receiving numerous congratulatory messages from Japanese fans.
On the 5th, American ‘Bali Sports Arizona’ collected congratulatory messages McGuff received from Japanese fans and introduced them to the official SNS. Japanese fans lavished praise on McGuff, saying, “Cool”, “Great”, “McGuff is the pride of Yakult” and “McGuff is our family wherever he goes.” The media said, “McGuff’s fan club is ‘real’. He showed strong pitching for four years in Japan, and we are proud that he recorded his first major league save and received great support from Japanese fans.”
Although McGuff marked his first save in his major league debut and became a losing pitcher the next day when Ha-sung Kim hit a walk-off home run, it was thrilling to return to the big league stage after 8 years, and he is still supported by Japanese fans. I think I will be able to shake off the ‘pain’ of <<> as soon as possible. It remains to be seen whether McGuff, who recorded 80 career saves during his time at Yakult, will be able to establish himself as a “guardian” in Arizona with his first save in his major league debut.