The WBC (World Baseball Classic) opened the door of opportunity to another ‘baseball frontier’ player. Australian pitcher Mitch Nunnborn, who boasted a fast ball with an average speed of 150 km/h in a game against Korea, signed a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Australian Baseball Association announced on the 25th that Nurnborn had signed a minor league contract with Philadelphia. The strikeout ability he showed at the WBC led to a major league challenge.

Nurnborn is the pitcher who made Korea cry in the last WBC. He came out as the second pitcher in the first game of the group stage against Korea on the 9th and recorded 1 hit, 2 strikeouts, 1 walk and 2 runs in 2⅓ innings. He gave up a run in the 5th inning, but got on the mound from the start of the 3rd inning and kept Australia’s early lead by holding the first two scoreless innings until the 4th.

Korea pulled out the 5th inning and even reversed it, but eventually lost 7-8. Following starter Jack O’O’Klin’s two scoreless innings, Nunborn struggled against an unfamiliar pitcher.

Nunborn drew attention with his fast ball in this game. His highest fastball speed was up to 152.8 km per hour, and his average speed was 150.2 km. In the game against Australia, no Korean pitcher threw faster than Nurnborn.안전놀이터

Starting with the match against Korea and ending with the quarterfinals against Cuba, Nurnbon recorded an average ERA of 4.76 with 3 hits, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts and 3 runs in 5⅔ innings. He didn’t pitch dominantly, but his one strikeout ability was great.

Except for the experience of the Great West League, an American college summer league, most of them played baseball only in Australia. In Australia, he went 6-3 with a 1.99 earned run average in 22 games over three seasons with the Perth Heat and Adelaide Giants. In the season right before the WBC, he struck out 40 in 28 innings for a 12.9 strikeout rate per 9 innings.

The WBC is also a place of opportunity for players outside the United States. Nicaraguan pitcher Duke Hibbert struck out Juan Soto (San Diego), Julio Rodriguez (Seattle), and Rafael Devers (Boston) in a game against the Dominican Republic, and signed a minor league contract with Detroit as soon as the game was over.