"A visibly emotional Ponce explained that his mother passed away in 2017 to stage four brain cancer. He went on to describe a white butterfly that flew past him moments before he struck out his 17th batter of that historic game. That punchout tied Ponce with former Blue Jays pitcher Hyun-Jin Ryu, who was cheering his teammate on from the Hanwha Eagles dugout."
"Ponce was asked what he was feeling after setting the record. He bowed to his teammate Ryu in a sign of respect, and then his emotions took over. He says that he felt the presence of his mom with him on the mound, "I felt my mom was there, my mom was in my arms, she was on my back, she was standing on my shoulders, she was just there. It was that moment of baseball history for me that will be forever remembered.""
"Ponce is already an easy guy to root for. He was overwhelmed in his first taste of MLB action and worked hard to get his career back on track via a tour through the Pacific Rim. The courage he showed in sharing his story will only make this new Blue Jays pitcher even more of a fan favorite. The 31-year-old was 1-7 with a 5.86 ERA over 20 appearances from 2020-2021 with the Pittsburgh Pirates in his first foray into the major leagues."
Cody Ponce recorded an 18-strikeout, nine-inning game that set the KBO record for strikeouts in a regulation game. A white butterfly flew past him moments before his 17th strikeout and hovered through the next at-bat, a symbol in Korean lore that ancestors are present. Ponce felt an overwhelming sense of his late mother’s presence on the mound, describing her as in his arms, on his back and shoulders. He bowed to teammate Hyun-Jin Ryu after tying Ryu with that punchout. Ponce rebuilt his career overseas after early MLB struggles and has become a fan-favorite Blue Jays pitcher.
Read at Jays Journal
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