Liberato’s 152km fastball shocks

[Anchor]

The Hanwha Eagles are smiling brightly as they look at their temporary foreign replacement, Liberato, who has stepped in for the injured Florial.

The best bullpen pitcher in the country and the top foreign pitcher threw fastballs exceeding 150 kilometers per hour. What happened next?

Reporter Heo Sol-ji has the story.

[Report]

Liberato was so enthusiastic that he started training just a day after arriving in Korea.

[Liberato/Hanwha: "First, I want to warm up a bit and I also want to hit that (pitching machine)."]

Just two days later, in his debut game, he immediately hit three singles and faced Bae Chan-seung's incredible 153 km fastball against Samsung, delivering a decisive hit.

The speed of the hit was so terrifying that it led to a defensive error by Koo Ja-wook.

Additionally, just six days into his debut, he hit a game-changing home run, with Anderson's decisive pitch also clocking in at 152 km!

The first week of Liberato's '6-week short-term job' was truly explosive, as even the fastest domestic bullpen pitcher, Bae Chan-seung, and foreign ace Anderson couldn't stop him.

With 6 games played, 25 at-bats, 10 hits, 1 home run, and 5 RBIs, his batting average of .400 has been deemed a perfect fit for the Hanwha lineup, which desperately needed a solution in the race for the top.

Fans are so interested that they are ready to give him nicknames like Love Letter and Vibrato, as long as they are four-letter words.

[Liberato/Hanwha: "I wanted to come to Korea, and it feels like a dream come true. I'm really happy. Thank you!"]

Kiwoom's replacement foreign player Stone also hit his first home run at a crucial moment, which was quite significant.

Although he struggled early in his debut, he ignited his batting rhythm with a grand slam that led the last-place Kiwoom to sweep their first three-game series of the season.

In a situation where the competition for rankings is fiercer than ever, the performances of replacement foreign players are becoming another variable this season.

This is KBS News, Heo Sol-ji.