They say they won't hold the 5th SV march ever...Lotte is moving beyond the history of KBO

May 11, 2025

They say they won't hold the 5th SV march ever...Lotte is moving beyond the history of KBO
Kim Won-joong, who finished the ninth inning against KT Wiz at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 10th. Photo courtesy of Lotte Giants



"I'm trying hard not to be conscious of the record."

Kim Won-joong (32, Lotte Giants) pitched in an away game against KT Wiz at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 10th and recorded one hit and one strikeout in one ⅓ inning.

When Jung Chul-won, who was on the mound with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning with an 8-5 lead, hit, Lotte began to replace the pitcher. He took out the closer Kim Won-joong's card early. Kim Won-joong struck out Kim Byung-joon to end the inning.




Kim Won-joong, who still took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning, three points ahead, was hit by Ahn Hyun-min, who has recently shown off his best batting sense, but he kept his team's victory by turning both Kang Baek-ho and Kim Gun-hyung and Kwon Dong-jin into miscues. Lotte won three consecutive games and maintained its third place with 23 wins, 1 draw and 16 losses.

Kim Won-joong made his 10th save of the season, achieving double-digit saves for six consecutive seasons. It is the fifth time that he has made double-digit saves in more than six seasons. The only players he has achieved before are Koo Dae-sung and Son Seung-rak (nine consecutive seasons), Jung Woo-ram (eight consecutive seasons), and Jin Pil-joong (seven consecutive seasons).

Kim Won-joong, who signed a four-year contract with Lotte for a total of 5.4 billion won after the end of last season and virtually declared 'Jongshin Lotte', has made every save in the club's history. Kim Won-joong recorded his 95th career save in 2023, becoming the most saved player for Lotte. The previous record was Son Seung-rak, who moved to the FA from Nexen (currently Kiwoom) ahead of the 2016 season, and made 94 saves in the four years he was a member of Lotte.




They say they won't hold the 5th SV march ever...Lotte is moving beyond the history of KBO
photo courtesy of Lotte Giants
Since signing the FA contract, Kim Won-joong has been pitching more powerfully. He is firmly guarding Lotte's back door with 1 win, 10 saves and a 1.65 ERA in 15 games. In the game against the Hanwha Eagles on the 24th of last month, he recorded one ⅓ of scoreless innings and surpassed 140 saves in his career.

Kim Won-joong said, "(Thanks to trainers taking good care of their bodies, I think they will be able to perform well on the ground."After turning the ball around ", I'm on the mound thinking a little simpler. He said, "I'm trying to concentrate on the match between the players and the players."

As the automatic ball determination system (ABS) has been downgraded this season, fork balls, the main weapon, are dancing even more. However, he reiterated that he is focusing only on pitching rather than being conscious of this part. He's going into the mound without thinking about ABS. Whether it's a strike or a ball, I don't think I can shake it if I don't care" he said.




I also emptied my mind for the record. When he made 140 saves, Kim Won-joong "I'm not thinking much. He has no greed in his record of saves. If you're at the highest post after the season, you might have a different idea, but for now, I'm just trying to focus on winning. When the director tells me to go out, I focus on the part where I go out," he stressed.

Even after making 10 saves for six consecutive years, he didn't think much about recording double-digit saves. I tried a lot not to be conscious of the record, and I focused on what I had to do in the future."

They say they won't hold the 5th SV march ever...Lotte is moving beyond the history of KBO
photo courtesy of Lotte Giants
Due to the increasing number of close games this season, it has often begun to play multiple innings. Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung also applauded his performance, referring to Kim Won-joong with Jung Chul-won, saying, `I'm sorry for always going in front of an inning in a difficult situation and blocking him responsibly, but thank you for silently throwing well.'

With Kim Won-joong stably guarding the back door, Lotte is in third place with 23 wins, 1 draw and 16 losses until the 10th. A golden opportunity to relieve the resentment of failing to advance to the postseason for the seventh consecutive year. Kim Won-joong stressed that he is playing with the idea that "Today's victory is the end of today, rather than being drunk with a winning atmosphere." In addition, he added "Recently, an atmosphere is being formed that we can create a team atmosphere. I will keep this pace and repay the fans who come to the ballpark this season"I'm determined.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.