Cody Ponce, a former major league pitcher with the Pittsburgh Pirates, has etched himself into the history books over in South Korea.
Playing for the Hanwha Eagles of the Korean Baseball Organization, Ponce struck out an astounding 18 batters in the first of a doubleheader against the SSG Landers on May 17th.
Ponce’s 18 strikeouts ties the KBO record for most in a single game, putting him alongside Seon Dong-yeol, who did it in 13 innings back in June of 1991. But in terms of standard, nine-inning games, the punch out record now belongs to Ponce.
Ponce broke the previous nine-inning mark of 17 strikeouts, held by his teammate, Hyun-jin Ryu, who did it back in 2010 and was there to witness a new record be set.
The righty said he wasn’t really counting the strikeouts until he got to the end of the seventh inning. ““Until the end of the 7th inning, I didn’t even check the number of strikeouts,” Ponce said, per local media. “I knew Ryu Hyun-jin held the record, but I couldn’t remember exactly how many.”
Ponce was visibly emotional on the mound during and after tying the KBO record. The crowd roared in approval all game and gave an extra round of support after Ponce had struck out his 18th batter on the day.
Ponce said after the game that he was thinking of his late mother, who passed away in 2017 from brain cancer.
“I felt as if my mother was right beside me today. I wish she could have watched from the stands,” he said. “I felt in my heart that she was watching.”
Ponce carried a no-hitter through the eighth inning, which was finally broken up when Ahn Sang-hyun hit a single with two outs. Ponce finished his day going eight strong, allowing only two hits and one walk. His Eagles were lucky to have Ponce be as dominant as he was, as Hanwha narrowly won 1-0.
They lost the second game 5-2.
Ponce, who has thrown a no-hitter in Japan when he was playing in the Nippon League in 2022, said his mind wasn’t on notching another no-hitter until around the sixth inning.
“I became somewhat aware of the no-hitter record around the 6th inning,” he said. “I thought it might be possible, but I’ve had such experiences a few times in my career. It has always been tough after the 8th inning.”
The Eagles called a mound visit after Ponce’s pitch count had reached triple digits, but they decided to keep him on the mound through the eighth inning. He wound up tossing 113 in total, with 81 going for strikes.
Despite losing out on the no-hitter, Ponce said that this achievement felt a bit more emotional. He was incredibly thankful to his teammates, the coaching staff, and the fans.
Ponce again honored his mother after the game, both in interviews and on social media.
“When I was in the minor leagues, my mother often joked, ‘You have to play well enough to be on TV. That way, I can comfortably watch from home.’” he said. “Now that I’m on TV, I’m sure she is watching.”
Ponce’s record setting performance improved an already excellent stat line. With the Eagles this season, Ponce now has a 1.48 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, and 5.16 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The 31-year-old leads his team in both innings pitched (67) and strikeouts (93).
Ponce previously played for the Pirates in 2020 and 2021. Pittsburgh had acquired him from the Milwaukee Brewers organization in exchange for right-handed starter Jordan Lyles in 2019.
Almost exactly one year after the Pirates traded for him, Ponce made his major league debut on August 2nd, 2020, at 26 years old. Ponce honored his late mother on his cleats during his debut. On the left side read her name, Jennifer, with his last name on the right side and a gray ribbon to promote brain cancer awareness on the heels.
“Those cleats meant a lot to me,” he said at the time of his MLB debut. “I knew that [Sunday was] the only day that they were going to be worn, no matter what, so those things will be put up for the rest of my life. They had a lot of special meanings, coming from my hometown, the area code of where I’m from. And I’m just proud to be able to say that I could be able to share the field with all these great guys.”
Ponce played parts of two seasons for the Pirates, totaling 55.1 innings with a 5.86 ERA, 1.536 WHIP, and 2.82 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He started five games over those two years with the club, with most of his appearances coming out of the bullpen.
He was released by the Pirates after the 2021 season and left to play overseas, where he has found success in both Japan and South Korea.
Fifth Avenue Sports 
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