“I’m in a dilemma”
SSG Landers Song Young-jin started the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League season 2 home match between the LG Twins and teams held at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 26th. self-reproach).
Song Young-jin, who started his professional life after being nominated by SSG with the 15th overall pick in the 2nd round of the 2023 rookie draft, has been given the opportunity to start while ‘Ace’ Gwang-hyun Kim was away for a while due to injury. Song Young-jin succeeded in building a victory in his first start with 5 innings, 7 strikeouts and no runs against NC Dinos on the 14th, and 3 runs (2 earned) in 3 innings against KT Wiz on the 20th.
This day was the last selection opportunity given to Song Young-jin for the time being. Prior to the game on the 26th, manager Kim Won-hyeong announced plans to take Song Young-jin down to the 2nd team to rest or to give him at least 5 days of recovery time in the 1st team after pitching, and then appoint him as a bullpen pitcher. He expressed his intention to take a position close to ‘Pil Seung-jo’ so that he could gain a lot of experience in the bullpen while managing it.
The head coach said, “I’m in a dilemma right now, watching Moon Dong-ju (Hanwha Eagles), who is a year older, take care of me. I think I should go with the concept of Pilseungjo while experiencing the bullpen.”
Was it conscious that it was the last appearance? Song Young-jin pitched the best pitching, recording the first quality start (less than 3 earned runs in 6 innings) in his debut with a slider (7 pitches)-pokeball (4 pitches)-curve (3 pitches) based on a fastball (71 pitches) of up to 149km. He succeeded in getting his second win of the season with.
Of course it wasn’t perfect. Song Young-jin allowed a hit by Hong Chang-ki from the start of the first inning, allowed a wild throw and a true base, and allowed Austin Dean a timely hit in a crisis with second out and third base, giving him the first point. In the 2nd inning, he marked a scoreless run, but in the 3rd inning, he gave up 2 points and was greatly shaken by overlapping three wild shots and unfortunate defense. However, he found stability from the 4th inning and was on the mound until the 6th inning, completing his best pitch since his debut.
Song Young-jin has a special hand that is different from other players. The middle finger is longer than the index finger. Because of this, even if you throw a four-seam fastball, the movement of cutter and sinker is formed. This can be said to be the best ‘weapon’ for Song Young-jin. As a result, the pitching on the 26th also had a fairly high proportion of fastballs.
When asked about the high percentage of fastballs, Song Young-jin said, “My fastball is a little messy at the end. In a way, it can be a breaking ball or a fastball. It is an advantage to be a cutter, sinker, and two-seam. That part worked well in today’s game. I think I did. So I took a lot, and because I had good strength, I followed (Kim) Min-sik’s lead well,” he smiled.
After pitching that day, Song Young-jin will change his position for the time being. However, coach Kim Won-hyung left open the possibility that Song Young-jin could return as a starter at any time. He said, “I didn’t think it was the last time. But I tried to do my best in what I was in charge of.” ㅋㅋㅋ벳
Now in my first year, I have no desire for positions. However, later on, Song Young-jin’s goal is to throw more innings. That is, she dreams of being selected. The command tower also emphasized that Song Young-jin is a starting talent and has infinite possibilities. Song Young-jin emphasized, “Now I will develop the stamina to throw 7 innings and 8 to 9 innings instead of 6.”
It remains to be seen whether Song Young-jin, who gave director Kim Won-hyung a ‘happy worry’, can grow into an ace responsible for the future of SSG under thorough management.