Around October and November last year, American pitcher Wil Crowe often had his sleep interrupted by his infant daughter, then about a month and a half old, and he would wake up at 4 a.m. to feed her. To keep himself awake and also to quench his thirst as a self-proclaimed “baseball nut,” Crowe would pull up Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) postseason games on his phone, watching some of his former teammates and opponents from Major League Baseball (MLB) and minor leagues.

There was no commentary, only the game sound and crowd noise. Crowe was fascinated with the constant cheering and singing in the stands throughout the game.

Little did Crowe know at the time that he himself would have a chance to pitch in that exact setting in 2024. On Sunday, the Kia Tigers announced they’d signed the 29-year-old right-hander to a one-year deal worth up to US$1 million, the maximum amount allowed for first-year foreign players in the KBO.

It’s a bet that Crowe, feeling healthy after shaking off shoulder inflammation f
rom last season, is confident will pay off for the 11-time Korean Series champions.

“I’m a competitor, and that’s going to be the No. 1 thing. I want to be a guy for the team that goes out, takes the ball every five days, takes pride in that and gives them anything,” Crowe said in a phone interview with Yonhap News Agency from his home in Charleston, South Carolina. “I want to go 6-plus, 7-plus innings every time out there and give them a chance to win because that’s all I want to do. Being able to come to a team and an organization like Kia who has a winning background… and that’s all they care about. That was a huge matchup for me. They want one thing and one thing only, and that’s to win. To be honest, that’s all I want.”

Crowe made his MLB debut with the Washington Nationals in 2020 with three starts. He was then traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates, and in 2021, he led his new team with 25 starts, while going 4-8 with a 5.48 ERA.

Crowe was a reliever over the next two seasons. After making a team-high 6
0 appearances in 2022, Crowe was limited to five appearances in 2023. He’d experienced some shoulder discomfort in spring training but tried to pitch through it, which exacerbated the issue and led to his being outrighted in July. He spent the rest of the year in the minors.

Crowe said the offseason went slow at first, with MLB clubs not being so certain that he would be healthy enough to pitch effectively. Crowe decided to keep his options open. And with his fastball velocity back up to 96 mph in bullpen sessions, Crowe was confident he could start at a high level once again.

“I explained to the guys that I think I have starter stuff and starter ability,” Crowe said, citing his first full MLB season with the Pirates in 2021, when he made 25 starts despite not knowing the ropes of the big leagues.

“Once I got comfortable and knew what I needed to do or how to go after people, I’ve been successful,” Crowe added. “I think I can start and throw a lot of innings and be very valuable for a team. I don’t know ho
w many teams in MLB wanted to give me that chance or risk giving me that chance with not knowing if I was healthy or not. When Kia called, we had some conversations and I was excited that they gave me the opportunity.”

According to Crowe, the Tigers told him that they trusted in his pitch repertoire, and they would make him a starting pitcher.

“I think the KBO is a great opportunity. I think being there is a great chance for me to show what I’m able to do, show who I am as a pitcher,” Crowe said. “I want to come over, and I want to win a lot. That’s something that I haven’t really been able to do in the big leagues or in the minor leagues because it’s about how can you get up and how can you advance? It’s not all about winning all the time.”

Crowe said he will lean on his six-pitch mix: four-seam fastball, sinker, slider, changeup, curveball and sweeper, a variation of a slider with significant horizontal movement. It has become popular in the majors in recent years, and Erick Fedde, Crowe’s former teammat
e with the Nationals, rode that pitch to win both the regular season most valuable player (MVP) award and Triple Crown in the KBO last season.

Crowe said he began throwing the sweeper at the start of last year, and he has since grown more confident with it.

“I think I was manipulating it a little bit last year, but when I came back from rehabbing stuff and at the end of the year, I figured out a way to throw it to where it’s very confident for me,” he said. “It’s a very good pitch for me. I’m excited about it. I know Fedde threw it over there. We throw very different things, but the sweeper is a very confident pitch for me. I’m excited to be able to throw it and be able to use it maybe more correctly now that I know how to throw it the right way, as well as when you should use it.”

As for his five other pitches, Crowe said being fully healthy will be the key.

“I’m doing 100 percent for the first time since probably the 2022 season, and I feel very, very confident in my pitches right now,” he said. “The wa
y that I’m throwing, the way that I am commanding the baseball right now, I feel like I probably did when I was a young kid, younger Wil Crowe at 24 and 25. And I know health is wealth, and health is a big thing, and I’m feeling healthy and ready to go. If I can compete and I’m healthy, I know I’m going to be able to do a good job and help the team win. That’s all I’m really worried about.”

Once he got past the crowd cheering part of KBO postseason games — “It’s definitely a different type of baseball than in America,” he said — Crowe noticed “high level” bat-to-ball skills of KBO hitters. He definitely won’t be taking them lightly.

“You’re going to have to get them out with your best stuff in the zone. You throw it down and away and it’s off the plate, they’re going to take it. If you’re nibbling at the corner, they’re going to make it a 10-, 12-pitch at-bat,” Crowe said. “You’re going to have to throw your best stuff over the heart of the plate, and you’re going to have to challenge guys. Not wanting to
strike out is a big thing (among KBO hitters) and sequencing your pitches the right way and challenging them with your best stuff is how you go after them.”

For some MLB pitchers moving to the KBO, getting used to seeing bat flips is part of the transition. Dramatic bat tosses after home runs are increasingly more celebrated in MLB, but they’re still frowned upon by old-school types in some quarters. It’s a far different situation in the KBO, where some hitters have been known to flip their bats with abandon even after flying out.

Crowe said he will have no trouble with that aspect of his adjustment.

“I’ve seen some crazy ones. It’s not going to upset me. There’s no offense taken,” Crowe said with a laugh. “I’ll see one or two, and it’s going to shock me, and I’ll be like, wow. But it’s going to make me laugh. Let’s just hope if they’re bat flipping off me, they’re bat flipping on a pop fly, and they’re not bat flipping on home runs.”

Crowe has other KBO connections aside from Fedde. He and Taylor Widener
, who pitched for the Samsung Lions and the NC Dinos last year, were college roommates, and they went to each other’s wedding. Crowe grew up playing baseball with his one-time Pirates teammate Will Craig, who spent the second half of the 2021 season with the Kiwoom Heroes. Former KBO MVP Eric Thames and ex-KT Wiz outfielder Anthony Alford are other teammates of Crowe’s that gave the newcomer valuable information about life in Korea.

Crowe said he’s looking forward to learning more about the baseball side of things in the new country.

“Me being a baseball nut and knowing that this is an opportunity for me, I’ve got to read a little bit of it and learn a little bit about it. So there’s still more I want to learn,” he said. “And this is going to be an experience for me. I’ve never been outside of some of the islands around the United States. So experiencing Korea as a whole, the culture, the food, the way of life, that’s something that a lot of people don’t get the opportunity to experience. And I’m really loo
king forward to diving in. I’m just really excited about what’s ahead of me and what the 2024 season is going to bring.”

jeeho@yna.co.kr

(END)

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Source: Yonhap News Agency