Hanwha Fans' Hearts Explode... Cody Ponce Becomes a KBO Legend with 15 Opening Wins and 200Ks

[Financial News] Hanwha Eagles' ace Cody Ponce has rewritten the history of Korean baseball. On the 12th, Ponce led the team to a 2-0 victory with a stellar performance of 7 innings, 3 hits, 2 walks, and 9 strikeouts without allowing a run against the Lotte Giants at Daejeon Hanwha Life Insurance Park.
With this, he recorded 15 wins and no losses for the season, setting a new record for the most consecutive wins at the start of the KBO League with 15, and surpassed 200 strikeouts in the fewest games (23 games) in the league with 202 strikeouts for the season. This record shortened the previous record of 25 games by Ariel Miranda (Doosan, 2021) by 2 games. For Hanwha, it is the fourth major record following Ryu Hyun-jin (2006, 2012) and Jung Min-cheol (1996).
Before the game, the Lotte bench was already in a "tough game" atmosphere. Manager Kim Tae-hyung said, "Ponce is not a player you can easily hit even if you prepare," and evaluated him as "the best pitcher in the country."
The game went as the manager predicted. Ponce faced a crisis with runners on first and second with one out in the first inning, but ended the inning with a line drive to the shortstop and a base-running mistake. He then retired the side in order in the 2nd to 4th innings. After allowing the leadoff batter in the 6th inning, he struck out all three Lotte batters from 1st to 3rd, reaching 200 strikeouts. He overwhelmed the Lotte lineup with a mix of fastballs reaching up to 157 km/h, changeups, sliders, and curves.
As of the 13th, Ponce's season record is 23 games, 145⅔ innings, 15 wins, no losses, an ERA of 1.61, a WHIP of 0.86, and a batting average against of 0.185. He is leading the league in all major metrics. Even with his current performance after surpassing the required innings, he is a strong MVP candidate.



Ponce was called a 'record maker' from the start. On May 17th, in the first game of a doubleheader against SSG Landers, he struck out 18 batters in 8 innings, tying the KBO League record for most strikeouts in a single game. He matched the record of 18 strikeouts set by Sun Dong-yeol (Haitai) in 1991 during a 13-inning complete game against Binggrae. In terms of regular innings, Ponce holds the record alone.
And just three months later, he achieved 15 consecutive opening wins, which no one else had done, and broke the record for the fewest games to 200 strikeouts. At this pace, breaking the single-season strikeout record is also within reach. Miranda broke the record of 223 strikeouts set by Choi Dong-won in 1984 with 225 strikeouts in 2021. However, this record is likely to be broken again in just four years.
Ponce is currently just 23 strikeouts behind Miranda with 202 strikeouts. At an average pace of 8.78 strikeouts per game, he could achieve the new record in 3 to 4 games.



Excluding the period after the opening, the record for the most consecutive wins by a starter in the entire KBO regular season is 21 wins by Jung Min-tae (Hyundai) in 2003. Jung Min-tae achieved 21 consecutive wins as a starter from July 30, 2000, to August 31, 2003 (excluding overseas periods). Currently, Ponce is tied for 3rd place with Hector Noesi (former KIA) with 15 consecutive wins.
With just one more win, he will tie with Kim Tae-won (LG, 16 consecutive wins), and with 7 more wins, he will surpass Jung Min-tae's great record. Given that Hanwha is competing with LG for the lead, there is no reason to rest Ponce, making this outlook even more realistic.
As he is leading in wins, ERA, and strikeouts, if his performance does not significantly fluctuate by the end of the season, the possibility of winning the MVP is very high. Although foreign pitchers winning the MVP in KBO history is rare, Ponce's performance qualifies him for the award in terms of record, impact, and team contribution.






jsi@fnnews.com Jeon Sang-il Reporter