I didn't even know who it was. The success story of a ninth-round pitcher's No. 1 ERA in Korea revealed by Cha. Scout who saw the gemstone → Coaching staff who increased the possibility → Cooperation of the coach who appointed him as the 5th starter

Jun 09, 2025

I didn't even know who it was. The success story of a ninth-round pitcher's No. 1 ERA in Korea revealed by Cha. Scout who saw the gemstone → Coaching staff who increased the possibility → Cooperation of the coach who appointed him as the 5th starter
The 74th Cheongryonggi National High School Championship (co-hosted by the Chosun Ilbo, Sports Chosun, and Korea Baseball Softball Association) played a match between Kaesong High School and Yatago in the round of 16 at Mokdong Baseball Stadium in Seoul on the 12th. Yatakgo Song Seung-gi

Mokdong = Reporter Choi Moon-young deer@sportschosun.com /2019.07.12/



I didn't even know who it was. The success story of a ninth-round pitcher's No. 1 ERA in Korea revealed by Cha. Scout who saw the gemstone → Coaching staff who increased the possibility → Cooperation of the coach who appointed him as the 5th starter
The 2022 KBO League KIA Tigers and LG Twins match was held at Gwangju Kia Champions Field on the 6th. Song Seung-ki of LG. Gwangju = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2022.10.06/
I didn't even know who it was. The success story of a ninth-round pitcher's No. 1 ERA in Korea revealed by Cha. Scout who saw the gemstone → Coaching staff who increased the possibility → Cooperation of the coach who appointed him as the 5th starter
2023 KBO League exhibition game between KT Wiz and LG Twins was held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 24th. LG Song Seung-ki is pitching hard. Suwon = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2023.03.24/
Song Seung-gi, who has risen to the top class of the KBO League beyond the LG Twins.

Song Seung-ki started in an away game against the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome on the 8th and led the team to a 7-2 victory with two hits, two walks, one strikeout and five strikeouts in seven innings. Tied for 4th place with multiple wins.

What's more surprising is the ERA. It has already been a scoreless streak for three games. Starting with the bottom of the fifth inning against the Lotte Giants on May 20, the team has been scoreless in 20 consecutive ⅔ innings. The ERA, which was 3.20 on May 20, gradually decreased and then came down to 2.30 after the game against Kiwoom. He ranked third overall after Cody Ponce (2.20) of Hanwha Eagles and Drew Anderson (2.28), SSG Landers. He is by far the No. 1 pitcher in Korea.




Can you believe such a great pitcher if he pitched nine ⅓ innings in eight games in the first team until last year and recorded a 4.82 ERA with one loss without a win. He was even the lowest-ranked pitcher in the 2021 rookie draft, the 87th pick in the second round of the ninth round.

Song Seung-ki's top hit product in 2025 was a collaboration created by a scout who saw the gemstone, a coaching staff who raised the possibility, and a coach who boldly used him in the first team.

"I didn't even know who Song Seung-ki was at the time of the draft," LG's general manager Cha Myung-seok said while recalling the time of the draft. "In fact, the team leaders only care about the first place, but they don't know much about the players to be selected in the background," Cha said. "Baek Sung-jin, the scout team leader, said he would pick Song Seung-ki in the ninth round, so I asked what kind of player he is." I'm left-handed, but I heard that there is a possibility of development because the pitching form is pretty. So I said, 'Let's pick one.'" He told an anecdote of the time. The arrest was not fast, but Cha's decision to trust the scout team leader's eye was the beginning.




After joining the team, coach Kyung Heon-ho found out the possibility of Song Seung-ki. Cha said, `When coach Kyung Heon-ho was on our team, I really liked Song Seung-ki. So I did it because Coach Kyung asked me to raise Song Seung-ki as a starter after he returned from the military early."

I didn't even know who it was. The success story of a ninth-round pitcher's No. 1 ERA in Korea revealed by Cha. Scout who saw the gemstone → Coaching staff who increased the possibility → Cooperation of the coach who appointed him as the 5th starter
The LG-SSG match held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 25th. Starter Song Seung-ki is smiling proud as he is replaced at first base with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Incheon = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.5.25/
I didn't even know who it was. The success story of a ninth-round pitcher's No. 1 ERA in Korea revealed by Cha. Scout who saw the gemstone → Coaching staff who increased the possibility → Cooperation of the coach who appointed him as the 5th starter
LG-SSG match at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 25th. LG starter Song Seung-ki pitches. Yes, Incheon = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.5.5.25/
I didn't even know who it was. The success story of a ninth-round pitcher's No. 1 ERA in Korea revealed by Cha. Scout who saw the gemstone → Coaching staff who increased the possibility → Cooperation of the coach who appointed him as the 5th starter
The LG-SSG match held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 25th. Starting pitcher Song Seung-ki is welcomed as he came down with no runs in the fifth inning. Incheon = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.5.25/
Song Seung-ki, who had a maximum fastball speed of only 144 kilometers before joining the army, built himself up at Sangmu and steadily started, increasing his speed to 148 kilometers. Last year, he showed growth by achieving the Futures League triple crown with 11 wins, 4 losses, a 2.41 ERA and 121 strikeouts in Sangmu.

Cha also told the story that coach Kyung Heon-ho asked for Song Seung-ki when he moved to SSG Landers after last season. Cha said "If you give me Cho Byung-hyun, I'll give you Song Seung-gi, but there was no phone call," he said with a smile. This can be interpreted as meaning that Coach Kyung considered Song Seung-ki highly likely.




LG predicted Song Seung-ki, who returned from Sangmu, as a leading candidate for the fifth starting pitcher. In the end, however, the decision is made by Yeom Kyung-yeop.

Cha said, `When I showed coach Yeom Song Seung-ki's data, I asked him to be the fifth starter, and he gladly said it was good. He quickly picked Song Seung-ki as the fifth starter.

Coach Yeom did not compete with other five starting candidates and fixed Song Seung-ki as the fifth starting pitcher from the Arizona camp. Song Seung-ki was able to prepare for the season as a starter from camp, and he became a dragon born in Gaecheon by throwing his 12th game under the management of Jinyong Jang coach Kim Kwang-sam.

Song Seung-ki, who is in his fifth year of joining the team but remains eligible for the Rookie of the Year award until this year, is the most outstanding candidate for Rookie of the Year among pitchers. Among the batters, Ahn Hyun-min is competing with Song Seung-ki by hitting 10 home runs.

The next appearance is highly anticipated. In the rotation, Song Seung-ki's next appearance will be against the Hanwha Eagles in Daejeon on the 14th, and the expected opponent is none other than Ponce, who is currently ranked first in multiple wins (9 wins), ERA, and strikeouts (119). It's a game that makes a difference if it's the average five starters, but it's different if it's Song Seung-ki. It is a match between No. 1 ERA and No. 1 in Korea. Song Seung-ki said, `I hope we win, but I hope I can fulfill my role enough. I'll just leave it to the same result on that day."



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.