Son Joo-young at 152km → Song Seung-gi at 150km. LG's fifth starting pitcher for the second consecutive year is a huge hit. The secret to good pitching in the first game is not competition, but early selection of the amount of cravings

Mar 28, 2025

A game between Hanwha and LG held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 27th, and LG Song Seung-ki, who overcame the crisis of losing a point with two outs and second base in the top of the seventh inning, is cheering. Jamsil= Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.03.27/

In the game between Hanwha and LG at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 27th, LG Song Seung-gi holds his fist after catching Hanwha Kim Tae-yeon with a strikeout, not out in the top of the third inning. Jamsil= Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.03.27/

A game between Hanwha and LG held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 27th, and LG starter Song Seung-ki is pitching hard. Jamsil= Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.03.27/

Everyone was surprised.

Even if he achieved the Triple Crown in the Futures League last year, his performance in the first team was not very good. He pitched eight ⅓ innings in seven games in 2022, recording a 5.40 ERA with one loss and one hit and one walk in one game last year. He pitched in eight games in the first team, recording one loss and a 4.82 ERA.

And Song Seung-ki of the LG Twins, who made his first start in a home game against the Hanwha Eagles in Jamsil on the 27th, was burdened. This is because all the starters in the previous four games pitched well. Chirinos allowed two runs in six innings, and Son Joo-young and Hernandez allowed seven scoreless innings in a row, followed by Lim Chan-kyu's shutout the previous day. No matter how low the expectations were because it was the first selection, there was no choice but to put pressure on the team to continue its winning streak. In addition, Jamsil sold out even on this day.

But Song Seung-ki threw well. I didn't just throw it well, I threw it too well. He allowed just one hit, one walk, five strikeouts and no runs in seven innings. He tied Hanwha batters tightly using all his weapons, including fast fastballs with a maximum speed of 150km, fork balls, changeups, sliders, and curves.

LG's batters were also blocked by Hanwha starter Moon Dong-ju on the day, but thanks to Song Seung-ki's good pitching, they were able to continue the 0-0 tight fight, and Kim Hyun-soo's two-run timely hit in the bottom of the eighth inning won 2-1 and led the opening five consecutive games.

In just one game, LG succeeded in finding another starter. LG, which selected Son Joo-young as the 5th starter last year and hit 'Awesome', decided to let go of FA Choi Won-tae and raise the starting player from within, and the first runner was Song Seung-ki, who had expected pitching from the first game.

However, LG's selection process for the fifth starter was different from that of other teams. Most teams make decisions after watching practice and exhibition games through competition in the first five starts, but LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop picked the first place early in the spring camp without competition, and the pitcher steadily prepared for the season.

In a game between Hanwha and LG at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 27th, LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop talks with reporters. Jamsil= Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.03.27/

A game between the LG Twins and the Lotte Giants at Jamsil Stadium on the 23rd. LG Son Joo-young is pitching hard. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.03.23/

A game between the LG Twins and the Lotte Giants at Jamsil Stadium on the 23rd. LG starter Son Joo-young is catching his breath. Jamsil = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.03.23/

Last year, Son Joo-young and Kim Yoon-sik were the five starting candidates, and Yeom quickly decided to make Son Joo-young during the Arizona camp. Since Kim Yun-sik's physical condition did not come up perfectly, he decided that competing could be bad for Kim Yun-sik, and Son Joo-young's physical condition was perfectly prepared, giving Son a chance first. Son Joo-young has prepared as a fifth starter since camp, and got off to a good start as he became a winning pitcher with three hits, two walks and three strikeouts in six innings against Jamsil Samsung on March 28, his first appearance. And he threw full-time, showing a good performance of 9-10-1 with a 3.79 ERA.

Song Seung-ki, who returned from Sangmu after Choi Won-tae left for Samsung this year, Lee Ji-gang, who has been an alternative starter, prospect Woo Kang-hoon, and reward player Choi Chae-heung were the candidates for selection, but coach Yeom quickly picked Song Seung-ki early in the Arizona camp. He gave a high score to his consistent start and good performance at Sangmu last year, and evaluated that his pitching was also well understood.

Coach Yeom did not give up his faith in Song Seung-ki, even though he was in trouble at the exhibition game. Rather, I'll keep giving you opportunities for a month so you don't fretprofessed that " Coach Yeom also said in the match on the 27th, `I hope you don't have to walk"If you play without just walking, it is important to reduce the number of walks because I think Seung-gi's fastballs, curves, sliders, and changeups are definitely worth the ball type. It doesn't matter if it's right" he said.

And Song Seung-ki proved that manager Yeom and pitching coach Kim Kwang-sam were not wrong that he was fully prepared to throw as LG's fifth starter.

Players with similar skills are right to compete. However, unconditional competition may lead to unnecessary consumption and may not be used in the regular season when it is necessary to use strength. Coach Yeom's early selection of the fifth starter started successfully this year following last year.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.