Fans fill the stands during a preseason game between the Doosan Bears and Samsung Lions last year. [Newsis]
Fans fill the stands during a preseason game between the Doosan Bears and Samsung Lions last year. [Newsis]

Austin Voss, the injury-replacement foreign pitcher for the Samsung Lions, said the biggest reason he decided to come to Korea was that the team was leading the league. A recommendation from Eric Paddy, who has experience in the KBO League, also helped tip the scales.

Set to make his debut against the Doosan Bears on Sunday, Voss said Friday that he aims "to give the team a chance to win every time I take the mound and record as many quality starts as possible," signaling his determination to help Samsung hold on to first place.

Speaking to reporters ahead of an away game against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, Voss said, "When I signed, I heard Samsung was in first place, and that was the biggest thing for me. I thought it would mean a lot to play winning baseball on a team like this."

Eric Paddy (Chicago White Sox), who played in the KBO League with the NC Dinos during the 2023 season, also influenced Voss's decision to come to Korea.

"I played on the same team as Paddy and we talked a lot," Voss said. "He told me so many stories about how much fun he had and how great his experience was in the KBO League. That was a big part of why I chose to come to Korea."

Signed as a replacement for Ariel Jurado, who is out with a shoulder injury, Voss agreed to a six-week deal with Samsung worth $150,000. He will start Sunday's game against Doosan at Jamsil to make his KBO League debut.

His pitch count is expected to be around 80, with a maximum of about 90.

Voss arrived in Korea on Sunday and joined the squad on Friday, greeting his new teammates. He spent considerable time talking with catcher Kang Min-ho, who is likely to be his battery partner in the debut.

"I talked with Kang Min-ho about what kind of pitcher I am, how I throw and how I approach the game," Voss said with a laugh. "He came right up and gave me a hug."

League-leading Samsung has rebuilt its foreign pitching rotation for the second half of the season around Chris Paddack and Voss as it looks to defend first place.

Paddack turned in a strong outing Friday against Doosan, allowing two runs over six innings to earn his second consecutive win since his KBO League debut.

Voss has appeared in 210 major league games, posting a record of 17 wins and 20 losses with an ERA of 4.84 and a WHIP of 1.37.

Last year, he pitched 125 innings for the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball league, going 3-9 with an ERA of 3.96 and a WHIP of 1.25.

"Since I'm joining the team mid-season, my biggest goal is to give the team a chance to win every game I pitch," Voss said. "I want to record as many quality starts — at least six innings with no more than three earned runs — as possible and contribute to the team's success."


th5@heraldcorp.com