Bong on His Way to Rookie Award

A South Korean major league pitcher, Jung Bong, of the Atlanta Braves, recorded his fourth season win yesterday. If this trend continues, Bong might be able to grab the "best rookie" award.

The victory came in an away game against the L.A. Dodgers. Bong shut out 2 2/3 innings and struck out in three. He only allowed one hit and one walk his entire time on the mound. It was his pitching which led his team to 11-4 victory.

When Bong took the mound, the gap was narrow, and gradually widened over the course of his pitches. In the 7th, Bong allowed a one-out tying hit to Ron Coomer, calling in the runner on second base. But he struck out and popped out the following hitters.

In the eighth, right after taking the mound, Bong struck out the powerful batters Sean Green and Fred McGriff. He then walked Brian Jordan to first, and grounded out the next hitter.

In the ninth, the Dodgers put Eric Gagne on the mound to deter the Braves. But Gerry Sheffield, Andrew Johnson and Javy Lopez made hits and a home run, giving the Braves a seven-point lead.

The Braves then called in John Smaltz from the bullpen into the dugout, and Bong grounded out all three Dodgers hitters in the ninth.

Except for his "surprise debut" when he pitched six innings, he threw the most innings, or 2 2/3, and, for the first time, closed out the ninth inning. His ERA went down from 2.60 to 2.25.

Bong, as a reliever, has now won four games, a feat that puts him at fifth in the National League. Bong also leads the Braves with this record. He is currently tied with Ricky Stone, as a reliever, and with Hideo Nomo as an Asian ML pitcher.

Hwan-Soo Zang zangpabo@donga.com