He was selected by the Washington Nationals as the No. 1 major league draft pick in 2014 and was an active major leaguer who played full-time starting rotation until last year. He has been a pedi with one of the best career among foreign players who have played in the KBO League, and his teammates have also been outstanding. In particular, representative pitchers who played with Peddy in Washington included Max Scherzer (39, Texas Rangers), who struck out 3,365 in three career Cy Young Awards, and Steven Strasburg (35, retired), the 2019 World Series MVP. The know-how and lessons learned from them are also being spread to the KBO League.
"I tried to ask as many questions as possible to many seniors in Major League Baseball, including Scherzer, Strasbourg, and Gio Gonzalez, and I got that much," Pedi said. As much as I received from my seniors, I want to return what I received in Korea. "I try to answer all the questions from my fellow pitchers sincerely," he explained.
Not only young NC pitchers, but also Peddy's teaching toward the KBO League representative young guns reached other clubs' young guns. In particular, Moon Dong-joo (20), the future of Hanwha and the future of the KBO League, wanted to spend time with Pedi, and that time was arranged. On August 15-17, a meeting between Pedi and Moon Dong-joo took place ahead of Hanwha's expedition to Changwon. On the eve of the first game of the series (14th), a meeting between Pedi and Moon Dong-joo took place somewhere in Changwon. Hanwha Scouts and Fed agency executives arranged a meeting between the two players.
Looking back on the meeting at the time, Pedi said, "Moon Dong-joo seemed like a friend with a strong will to learn baseball. So the dinner table was made. We talked a lot about baseball while sitting together, he said. "While playing baseball, I shared my know-how with the hope of being the best in each position and field."
"If the parts I taught come from Moon Dong-joo, I think the league will grow more and baseball will be more fun." In that sense, I shared my know-how," he said, adding that he passed on his know-how in the hope that Moon Dong-joo would become the league's best ace.
However, what surprised Pedi was Moon Dong-ju's English skills. Pedi said, "Moon Dong-ju is so good at English that communication related to baseball was not a big problem. "I shared as much knowledge as I could that I played baseball in the Major League for 10 years, and Moon Dong-joo also asked a lot of questions about pitching," he said.
Moon Dong-joo is known to have honed his English in an English kindergarten as a child and has no qualms in communicating with Hanwha foreign players. Pedi did not hide his surprise at this point.
He also stressed to NC players, "I'm trying to answer what I have as honestly as possible rather than keeping my secret." Pedi is trying to release everything he has experienced in the KBO League. NC pitchers will come first, but many South Korean pitchers hope to get their know-how if they have a chance. Upcoming players refuse and say baseball-related discussions are always open.
Pedi's ultimate goal is to return to the Major League, and Major League Baseball clubs are actually paying keen attention. However, his affection for the KBO League and Korea was sincere. In a recent interview with the Washington Post, he said, "When I retired because I was old, I will be very happy to play in Korea. Looking back on everything, I think it'll be really fun." Like throwing all his might on the mound, Pedi is passionate about Korean baseball and is treating it with all his heart. The English meeting with Moon Dong-joo became one of the representative examples.