‘Career High at 35’ Former Lotte Ace Loves Korea “Even in New York, I go to eat ssamjang”

• allforyouclick
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• on Jul 13, 2023

Former Lotte pitcher Brooks Reilly, 35, who left Tampa Bay for the New York Mets this season, is happy with his new surroundings. His interest and love for Korea remained.

“I’m not a fan of city life, so I chose to live in a secluded place outside of New York, but both my children and my wife are happy with the new environment,” he told Star News in a recent interview at the clubhouse of the visiting team at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. “I want to live in a secluded place and close to nature as much as possible, especially for my children.”

Railey was an ace for Lotte in the KBO from 2015-2019, winning 48 games in his career. After returning to the U.S. from Korea in 2020, he signed a minor league deal with Cincinnati, but a strong spring training earned him a spot on the Opening Day roster that year.스포츠토토

He then moved to Houston in 2021, where he posted a 2-2 record with a 3.03 ERA and 10 saves in 49 innings pitched in 58 games as a bullpen arm before signing a two-year, $10 million contract with Tampa Bay last year.

Last year, the first year of his multi-year deal, Reilly appeared in 60 games and pitched 53⅔ innings, posting a 1-2 record with 25 strikeouts and six saves. He also had a stellar 2.68 ERA. However, Tampa Bay traded him to the Mets after the season.

In his new home, Reilly has continued to perform well. He finished the first half of the season with a 1-1 record with 17 strikeouts and one save in 38 appearances and 31⅓ innings pitched. His ERA is also a career-high 2.30.

Reilly has actually gotten better as he’s gotten older. “I think it’s a combination of hard work and understanding things about the game that I didn’t know when I was younger,” he said, “and a little bit of luck, too.”

This is the final year of his two-year contract with Tampa Bay, but Railey said he has a team option for next year. At this rate, it’s a sure bet that the Mets will exercise the team option. The option is for a one-year, $6.5 million salary.

“I’m still very interested in the Korean Professional Baseball League,” said Raili, who has been away from Korea for four years, “and I’m curious to see where the team stands. “I also talk to pitcher Merrill Kelly (35-Arizona), who played in Korea at the same time, about Korea and Korean baseball from time to time,” he said.

As for his goals for the season, he said, “I don’t have any personal numerical goals,” adding, “My only goal is to always be ready to go when the team wants and needs me, and to live up to their expectations.”

Asked if he had any regrets about leaving Tampa Bay, Reilly said, “Of course I do,” adding, “The biggest one is that my kids are big fans of Choi Ji-Man (32-Pittsburgh) and they really miss him and not being able to see him on the field as much anymore.”

“But there are a lot of Korean restaurants in New York, and I like that,” he continued, “My wife and I really like Korean food, so we go there a lot, and we especially like places that have good ssamjang.”