(Jupiter, FL) The much anticipated first bullpen session of Spring Training for Seung Hwan Oh took place this morning as the St. Louis Cardinals reliever took the mound and provided a glimpse of things to come this season.
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“It’s been a while and he wanted to take it slow and the coaches talked to him and told him to take it slow, so easy-going day,” said Oh through interpreter Eugene Koo. “He’s actually feeling very good, at the pace he wants to be.”
Communicating with his coaches–and catcher has not been a problem for Korea’s all-time saves leader.
“When you’re in uniform and gear, talking about baseball there’s nothing much different,” said Oh. However, how the two leagues approach their workouts is slightly different.
“In Japan and Korea, it’s all about team and together doing something–even like stretches and running, you’ll do it all together,” said Oh. “Here you’re kind of on your own, on your own pace, very freestyle. But I love it here.”
Oh added that in Korea and Japan, pitchers throw 100-150 pitches during a typical bullpen session instead of the 20-30 here.
Besides his pitching, Oh has shown some speed in his running drills and shared he was a centerfielder and lead-off hitter back in elementary school.
“If Mike asks–but that’s like the worst case scenario for the team,” laughed Oh about potentially being a pinch-runner.
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