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| LG Kim Young-woo, who took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning, is pitching hard in a practice game between LG and KIA at Kin Stadium in Okinawa, Japan, on the 27th. Okinawa (Japan) = Reporter Heo Sang-wook wook@sportschosun.com /2025.02.27/ |
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| LG Twins Kim Young-woo makes his first appearance in a practice game against KIA on the 27th, making a save and interviewing him. Okinawa = Reporter Kwon In-ha |
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| LG Kim Young-woo, who took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning, is pitching hard in a practice game between LG and KIA at Kin Stadium in Okinawa, Japan, on the 27th. Okinawa (Japan) = Reporter Heo Sang-wook wook@sportschosun.com /2025.02.27/ |
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We didn't prepare to take the mound in the 9th inning from the beginning. So it was a more surprising save from a rookie pitcher.
LG Twins rookie Kim Young-woo made a save in his first appearance in the first round. Kim Young-woo took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning with a 3-1 lead in a practice game against the KIA Tigers at Kin Stadium in Okinawa, Japan, on the 27th, blocking three outs and keeping the win. Kim Young-woo handled the lead Hong Jong-pyo with a ground ball in front of the second base, Byun Woo-hyuk with a fly to center field, and Kim Seok-hwan with a ground ball in front of the second base, ending the game with three outs.
It was LG's first practice game this season, and it was also the first time for rookie Kim Young-woo to wear an LG uniform and distribute the ball to the opponent's professional team batter. Nevertheless, by keeping the victory calm without being nervous at all, he proved himself why LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop mentioned Jang Hyun-sik as a temporary closing candidate when he injured his ankle.
What was more surprising was that he played the closing pitcher like a real game. Usually, pitchers and batters often have their own schedules in practice or exhibition games. In the case of batters, they will be replaced after hitting about two at-bats, or in the case of pitchers, they will set 2 to 40 innings, and bullpen pitchers will take the mound after determining the number of innings and pitches they will go to.
Manager Yeom of the game told reporters that Kim Young-woo will be the closing pitcher. As the two teams agreed to play until the end of the ninth inning regardless of the outcome of the game, reporters were expecting Kim Young-woo to take the mound at the end of the ninth inning, whether the team won or lost. And I thought Kim Young-woo was notified like that.
But it wasn't. LG only announced the waiting list to the pitchers who participated in the game on the day, but ran the bullpen in such a way that the pitcher was informed at that time like a normal game. So Kim Young-woo also warmed up and prepared only after LG turned the tables and took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning.
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| LG Kim Young-woo, who took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning, is pitching hard in a practice game between LG and KIA at Kin Stadium in Okinawa, Japan, on the 27th. Okinawa (Japan) = Reporter Heo Sang-wook wook@sportschosun.com /2025.02.27/ |
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| LG Kim Young-woo, who took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning, is pitching hard in a practice game between LG and KIA at Kin Stadium in Okinawa, Japan, on the 27th. Okinawa (Japan) = Reporter Heo Sang-wook wook@sportschosun.com /2025.02.27/ |
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| LG Kim Young-woo, who took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning, is pitching hard in a practice game between LG and KIA at Kin Stadium in Okinawa, Japan, on the 27th. Okinawa (Japan) = Reporter Heo Sang-wook wook@sportschosun.com /2025.02.27/ |
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When asked if Kim Young-woo knew he was going to take the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning and prepared for it, he said, "I didn't know. At first, the coach told me to wait for all bullpen pitchers, so I just waited, but at the beginning, I thought I might not throw it today because I was losing, and I didn't warm up." "When the team tied the game in the seventh and eighth innings and turned the tables, the coach told me to prepare for the final round, so I warmed up and prepared and went out from then on."
He didn't prepare his mind to take the mound in the ninth inning in advance, but he prepared as a closing pitcher after taking the lead by looking at the game situation. Such preparation and pitching like this could have been a tension and burden for a rookie pitcher, but Kim Young-woo threw as usual. The restraint came out better. During the Arizona camp, he took 151 kilometers in bullpen pitching and 153 kilometers in live pitching, and his maximum fastball speed was 154 kilometers.
Kim Young-woo said, `I was a little nervous at first, but I tried to enjoy the situation rather than feel the pressure to finish because I was the same player even when I was warming up, and I think I was able to throw with my brothers because I was in good condition since I warmed up.'
Kim Young-woo said, `I don't care about the position, but I really wanted to be the closing pitcher of the team before I retired"That was the baseball goal of life. So I was glad when I heard it, but I tried not to get excited." "As a result, I'm not a closer, so I just thought let's do our best without thinking about the results at the given opportunity."
Jang Hyun-sik, who is rehabilitating due to an ankle injury, is recovering fast. He will prepare for the opening game, but coach Yeom will not force himself. He signaled that he would wait until his physical condition was complete and his pitching was perfect. There are still many practice and exhibition games left, but if Kim Young-woo performs as stable as he does now, the real rookie pitcher may be the closing pitcher.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
