BASEBALLPARK

Sydney Blue Sox pitcher Koo Dae-Sung has proven a master of doing the opposite throughout his long baseball career.

A natural right hander, an injury when he was young forced the South Korean to change to throwing with his left.

During his Major League Baseball stint for the New York Mets in 2005, the reliever was meant to be a bunny with the bat, but instead managed a rare two-base hit off Yankees' pitching legend Randy Johnson.

And now as the oldest player in the Australian Baseball League at 41, Dae-Sung is defying father time as the most dominant closer in the competition for the ladder-leading Blue Sox.

Dae-Sung has nine saves, six more than his nearest rival. He has an earned run average (ERA) of just 1.65 and no one has hit a single home run off his work all season long.

The closer is a specialist pitching role in baseball, brought on in the final innings to protect a lead, which if achieved, is recorded as a save.

Dae-Sung's professional career started for the Hanwha Eagles of the Korean Baseball Organisation in 1993. He then made his mark in the Japanese Pacific League for four seasons from 2001, before breaking through in America.

Despite his limited English, Dae-Sung's knowledge and experience are proving invaluable as Sydney looks to convert a current two-match lead into a first-up title with the finals looming at the end of the month.

Sydney's winning record has been set up by the quality of their starters - led by Detroit Tigers signing Chris Oxspring - but coach Glenn Williams says Dae-Sung deserves much of the credit for finishing the job.

"He's a veteran guy who has pitched in the major leagues in three different countries and for the majority of his career he's been a closer," Williams said.

"He's in his early 40s so obviously he doesn't throw as hard as he used to but he's got a few different breaking balls he throws.

"He's got pretty good control and the way he throws is different so he provides some deception.

"He's got a lot of poise out there and he doesn't get overawed by situations."

The Blue Sox defeated the Perth Heat 10-3 on Sunday to extend their overall winning streak to five games.

While Adelaide moved into second place after beating Canberra 12-1.

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