Andy Van Hekken, 35, became the first left-hander since 1995 to win 20 games in a season in the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO). According to @BaseballinKorea on Twitter, Lee-sang Hoon was the most recent left-hander to accomplish this feat.
Van Hekken (20-6), who is in his third season with the Nexen Heroes, picked up the milestone victory Tuesday in a 12-4 win over the Lotte Giants. Tuesday's start should be the final one of the 128-game regular season for Van Hekken.
The play-offs await for Van Hekken and his Nexen teammates. The Heroes enter the post-season as the KBO's #2 seed, meaning they will receive a first round bye and are scheduled to begin play on October 27.
In three seasons with Nexen, Van Hekken has established himself as one of the top pitchers in Korea. The Michigan native has collected 43 wins in three seasons overseas.
NOTE: Andy Van Hekken is not related to Mark Van Hekken (illustrated above). However, I had Andy in mind when I named a character in my new book Mark Van Hekken. Mark Van Hekken, also a 20-game winner, is one of the main characters in The Gamble- The Season the Local Brewer Bet Against The Dukes.
No comments:
Post a Comment