First All-Star no-hitter in 21 years says, “Age doesn’t matter, right?”
Baseball’s SSG is looking to win its second straight title with the league’s best bullpen. Reporter Hong Seok-jun met with Noh Kyung-eun, who is one of the strongest bullpens even at her advanced age. Noh Kyung-eun comes in with the bases loaded, strikes out the side, and roars. Noh, who was released by Lotte after the 2021 season and resurrected by SSG after a difficult career, has been a mainstay in the team’s bullpen for two consecutive years. “I think that such a (release) situation is a turning point in life, so if you don’t get frustrated when you have such a situation and you are sure of your mind, you can continue to challenge yourself steadily….” He leads the league in holds, but at a salary of 170 million won, he’s one of the best examples of so-called “bang for the buck. “My goal is to be in the top 3 (in the hold category) unconditionally, and I have to perform well so that I can raise my salary again, right?” In the past, Noh was sarcastically nicknamed “No-Kart” by some fans who left malicious comments, saying, “I’m going to go play a racing game. In March of this year, she was disappointed to learn that the game had been shut down. “Oh, it’s gone? It’s a game that I have a lot of memories of… I don’t really like games, and the only game I ever liked was ‘Kartrider,’ so it’s kind of heartbreaking.” So much time has passed that Noh is now a 39-year-old veteran of the game. For Noh, age is just a number, as she’s in the midst of a second career, having been named to her first All-Star team since her debut in 2003. “As long as my fastball continues to be in the low-to-mid 140s, I think I’ll continue to play. I think I’ll just keep challenging myself regardless of my age.
“NoKyungEun #SSG #BaekJeonNoJang