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| Jack O’Rourke / Photo: Shin Seo-young |
[Incheon=Sports Today reporter Shin Seo-young] Replacement foreign pitcher Jack O’Rourke spoke about joining the Samsung Lions and his first impressions of the KBO League.
O’Rourke arrived with the team ahead of Samsung’s 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League exhibition against the SSG Landers at Incheon SSG Landers Field on the 17th.
Samsung announced on the 16th that it had signed O’Rourke to a six-week short-term contract. He was brought in to replace Matt Manning, who was lost for the season with an acute elbow ligament tear.
In the majors, O’Rourke made four appearances with a 4.66 ERA and a 1.86 WHIP and no decisions. In the minors, he appeared in 139 games (78 starts), going 19-26 with a 4.33 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP.
O’Rourke made a strong impression at the 2026 World Baseball Classic as a member of Team Australia. He threw 3.1 innings with one unearned run against Korea and followed that with three scoreless innings against Taiwan.
Meeting reporters before the game, O’Rourke said, \”I’m happy to be here. I’m grateful for the opportunity.\”
He wrapped up his WBC schedule after the Korea game on the 9th and was in the KBO in under 10 days. \”I didn’t expect this,\” he said. \”I was actually talking with some teams in the U.S..\”
He had been preparing to fly from Japan back to Australia and even passed through the duty-free area when officials told him to return. \”I was excited and wanted to take the chance. I even went into the duty-free shop before I ended up coming to Korea,\” he explained.
O’Rourke added that he had already checked his bags and cleared security. \”I was literally about to board when they told me to come back. A security officer at the gate asked me to wait until all passengers had boarded, and then staff escorted me back out,\” he said.
Reflecting on facing Korea in the WBC, he said, \”They were a great team to pitch against. The players have strong individual skills, and every matchup was a valuable experience.\”
On his strengths, O’Rourke said, \”My biggest asset is throwing strikes. I can locate strikes where I want, regardless of the count.\”
Asked why he chose Samsung over opportunities in the U.S., he replied, \”I wanted to play outside Australia. I had already played in the U.S., so Korea was next. I took this as a new challenge.\”
O’Rourke previously played with Lee Seung-hyun on the Adelaide Giants in Australia. \”When Seung-hyun was in Australia last year, we kept in touch a lot,\” he said. \”We haven’t talked much here yet, but it’s great to see him again. We said, ‘Let’s work hard.’\”
When asked if he had contacted fellow Australians Lachlan Wells (LG Twins) and Jared Dale (KIA Tigers), he said he spoke with Wells first. \”He told me only good things about the KBO and living in Korea. That helped a lot in my decision to come to Samsung,\” O’Rourke said.
O’Rourke summed up his immediate goal succinctly: \”My first priority is to help the team win. If I keep contributing to victories, I expect good news after six weeks. If things go well, I hope to stay through the end of the season.\”
Samsung manager Park Jin-man said of O’Rourke, \”He’s been training with us and looks good. He’s taller than I expected. We’ll give him the 19th off and plan to use him in Game 2 against the NC Dinos on the 20th. He’ll probably throw around two innings and about 40 pitches. We signed him because he’s ready to play right away.\”
[Sports Today reporter Shin Seo-young sports@stoo.com]
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