The warrior does not choose the battlefield. He also responded to the master's declaration of "all-out" by finishing 160S. He stopped 1.1 innings in the eighth inning and became No. 1 in saves
Jul 30, 2025
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Kim Won-joong, the best closer to the Lotte Giants franchise, waits in the second half with a warrior's heart.
In a home game against the NC Dinos at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 29th, Kim Won-joong was on the verge of loading the bases in the top of the eighth inning and blocked until the ninth inning and made a save. He has 160 saves in his career. Only 10 players have achieved the milestone in KBO League history. He is the first Lotte player.
Son Seung-rak retired in Lotte's uniform and set the second-highest record ever with 271 saves, but after making 177 saves at Hyundai and Nexen, he moved to Lotte and recorded 94 saves in the last four years.
Kim Won-joong took the mound with two outs in the top of the eighth inning with a 6-4 lead. With a 6-3 lead, he gave NC a chance due to an error and allowed the bases loaded with consecutive hits while giving up one run. The next batter is Lee Woo-sung, who came from KIA in a 3-3 trade on the previous day. If he gets a timely hit from the player who came from the trade, it could potentially give way to the opponent team.
Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung took out the best card of course. Jeong Cheol-won was lowered and Kim Won-joong was raised.
Following the first fork ball, he threw a 146km fastball into the middle of the second pitch and Lee Woo-sung hit it. However, the result is a ground ball in front of the shortstop. The shortstop threw it to second base and easily forced out the first baseman, ending the inning.
Kim Won-joong, who also came up in the top of the ninth inning, allowed a left-handed hit to the leader Kim Hwi-jip, but struck out Ahn Jung-yeol and Kwon Hee-dong with a swing and miss, and continued to throw folk balls in the match against Kim Joo-won, then hit a 148km fastball low on the 7th pitch in the full count to end the game with a rookie strikeout. With this save, he achieved 160 saves in his career, rising to No. 1 in the save category with 28 saves this season.
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Even for 160 saves "not at all. I want to keep it meaningful in that it's a record that protects the team's victory"
Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung declared an all-out war for the ranking fight in the second half of the year. He said he would give everything he could to win the game. Of course, the bullpen is also a complete mess.
Kim Won-joong's appearance in the eighth inning of the crisis can also be said to have come from an all-out war. Manager Kim said, `I think I should talk with the pitching coach so that Kim Won-joong can take the mound even with a five-point difference.' This reflects manager Kim's baseball philosophy of winning by making a clear pitcher even if there is a certain difference in scores in games that must be caught.
Accordingly, Kim Won-joong is preparing with the heart of a warrior preparing to enter. The warrior does not choose to go to the battlefield depending on the situation. I also prepare to take the mound when the team wants, when the coach and coach talk"There will be many situations, such as going up in the eighth inning like today and taking the mound when there is a difference in points. I will not consider the situation and prepare myself for the second half so that the team can pitch all out when necessary," he said in a strong tone that he was an all-out war.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.