He showed his presence from the beginning of the spring camp and continued this trend through the regular season. He did not get frustrated despite injuries and contributed to winning the entire team. This is the story of James Nail, a foreign pitcher of the KIA Tigers who is entering his second season in the KBO League this year.메이저놀이터

Nail signed a 700,000-dollar contract (down payment of 200,000 dollars, annual salary of 350,000 dollars, option of 150,000 dollars) with KIA ahead of the last season. In the Big League (two seasons in Tongsan) and Triple-A (six seasons in Tongsan), he posted an ERA of 7.40 with one hold in 17 games and 27 wins, 17 losses, 3 saves and 20 holds, respectively, with an ERA of 4.15 in 17 games and one hold.

At the time, KIA general manager Shim Jae-hak said, "Nail was a pitcher who was close to two-pitch (two-seam, curve) when he played as a bullpen, but looking at the distribution of pitches, when throwing as a starter, he can throw four pitches, including change-ups and cut fastballs, in addition to two-seam curves. He is also a pitcher who has the advantage of being good at inducing ground balls, and he considered this part when recruiting because he has very good vertical movement."

Notably, Nail showed off her main weapon, the sweeper, from the bullpen pitching in the spring camp. Sweeper's movement caught the attention of club officials, who were watching his first bullpen pitching. Some even said that it would not be easy for even high-quality batters to hit the sweeper.

He also adapted quickly to the team. Nails communicated actively with teammates from the beginning of the camp and even taught right-handed Young-gun Cho Dae-hyun about sinker. Nails told that he only showed basic gripes, but that much so, he was as sincere as Korean players in KIA.

"I think it's important for me to do that to someone because I learned it from good people," Nail told reporters at the first spring camp in February last year. "I feel that I can gain something from the teachings," she said. "Of course, winning is the first priority. I think that's why KIA recruited me. I want to be a steady person as a person and as a baseball player."

In the meantime, he made one promise with his fans. "As the KIA is a team with tradition and history, I also want to be a part of its history. I will work hard to achieve this goal," he said, expressing his commitment to add strength to the team's challenge to win the title.

In the first season of the KBO League with strong determination, Nail showed off her stellar condition by posting four wins and an earned run average of 1.47 in six games and 36 ⅔ through April. In May, she also posted two wins and one loss and an earned run average of 1.84 in 29 ⅓ innings. Encouraged by Nail's stellar performance, Kia has been able to take one step forward to win the title from the beginning of this season.

Nail faithfully performed her role as a starting pitcher in June (five games, 30 ⅔ innings, one win and one loss, 4.40 ERA) and July (five games, 27 innings, 2-1 and 4.33 ERA). In August, Nail displayed ace-like pitching by posting three wins, two losses and 0.70 ERA in five games, 25 ⅔ innings. In the meantime, as the team overcame big and small crises, it gradually became closer to the regular season trophy.

Nails at the Changwon NC Dinos faced a major crisis on Aug. 24 last year. Nails kept scoreless streak until the fifth inning and was hit in the face by Matt Davidson, the first batter, at the bottom of the sixth inning, before heading straight to the hospital. The examination result was a broken jaw.

Nail worked hard to recover after undergoing jaw joint fixation in Seoul on August 25. Fans and colleagues cheered for her to return healthy, and Nail expressed her willingness to take the mound in the Korean Series.

Nail has been recovering so fast that no one can believe it. Nail has conducted simple training sessions since early September, and has elevated her physical condition by performing step-by-step pitching program (ITP) and bullpen pitching. In October, when training sessions were held to prepare for the Korean Series, she even pitched in practice games. She stood on the mound in good health, and contributed to her team's 12th win of the Korean Series by posting one win and an earned run average of 2.53 in 10 ⅔ innings in two games against the Samsung Lions. She kept her promise to fans, who said, "I want to be a part of history."

Kia, which entered the 2025 season with the goal of winning its second consecutive title, quickly agreed to renew the contract with Nail. The two sides sealed the seal for 1.8 million U.S. dollars on Nov. 27 last year (down payment of 400,000 dollars, annual salary of 1.2 million dollars, and option of 200,000 dollars). The amount of money significantly increased compared to the previous year. This means that Kia highly valued nails.

Shim Jae-hak said in December last year, "A player who used to play in the bullpen (before coming to Korea) went through build-up process as a starting pitcher in Korea. The player himself said that he is training to play as many innings as this winter. I think he will be able to throw more innings than in the 2024 season (in the 2025 season)," giving Nail a boost.

The verification is over. In a different way, domestic batters may have more severe checks than last year. It remains to be seen whether Nail, who successfully finished her first season, will continue to serve as the Tigers' ace this season.