A perfect save with 154km in his first appearance on his debut, did a veteran get inside the rookie? Baseball Life Goal Finishing Pitcher. Delighted to hear

Feb 27, 2025

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/

He took the mound in a real save situation, but he easily kept the victory and won the save so as not to look like a rookie.

Even if it was a practice game, not a regular season, he could have joined the professional team and played against another professional team for the first time, and he could have been nervous and could not throw his ball because it was a 3-1 two-point save situation, but he ended the game lightly with nine balls.

It proved that LG Twins manager Yeom Kyung-yeop mentioned it as a temporary finish when closer Jang Hyun-sik was injured, not just because the ball was fast.

Even if LG's first-round rookie Kim Young-woo was an unofficial match, he made a save in his first appearance. 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, and kept his team's victory without a hit and no run for one inning. Even though it was a practice game, he became the first save pitcher to secure his team's first game win this season.

Kim Young-woo handled the lead Hong Jong-pyo with a ground ball in front of the second base, and Byun Woo-hyuk with a fly to center field and Kim Seok-hwan with a ground ball in front of the second base to end the game with three outs. Kim Young-woo, who threw nine balls on the day, threw eight fastballs and one fork ball, and the maximum speed of his fastball was 154 kilometers.

KIA Yang Hyun-jong, who appeared as a commentator on YouTube on this day, watched Kim Young-woo's pitching and praised him for being a rookie on the other team, saying, `The ball is so good.'

Kim Young-woo was the last pitcher in the seventh inning of the first camp in Arizona on the 20th (Korea time) and stopped one inning without allowing one hit. At that time, it was a blue-and-white match between the same team, and this time, it was a practice match against another team. It certainly felt different.

After the game, when Kim Young-woo asked how he felt about taking the mound for the first time against another professional team, he said, "There are a lot of great players in our team, but I'm really a professional now that I'm playing against a team wearing other uniforms. I think I realized that I'm in a position where I can play against the opponent on the ground as a professional player, not as a spectator."," he said, expressing his own emotion at becoming a professional player.

In a practice game between LG and KIA at Kin Stadium in Okinawa, Japan, on the 27th, LG won 3-1.LG players sharing high-fives of victory. Okinawa (Japan) = Reporter Heo Sang-wook wook@sportschosun.com /2025.02.27/

Even if it was a practice game, he finished the game calmly enough to say that he was not a rookie. When asked if he was nervous at first, 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 from the time I warmed up."

When Yeom mentioned Kim Young-woo as a temporary closing pitcher, he asked "I wasn't scared, and since the closing pitcher is in a position where he can take great responsibility, I just thought that I should prepare as much as possible to meet the expectations of the manager, but I didn't say that it was too burdensome." He said "I'm grateful that you give me such an opportunity, so I think I just prepared it as soon as I heard it so that I could take the opportunity as much as possible."

Did you imagine throwing as a closer in the future. 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.", showing a grown-up side that is not like a rookie.

The day was a maximum of 151 kilometers in the bullpen during the Arizona camp, so he shot 154 kilometers, which is faster than 153 kilometers during live batting. When Kim Young-woo heard the maximum restraint "Face seems to be okay. But I'm not going to do any more over-face here. The trainer coaches also told me not to overdo it."

The joy of his first save has already gone back in time. Kim Young-woo "I think I got the first button right. But it was the past that threw well today. I will focus on the present so that I can throw the next game well."

Jang Hyun-sik is preparing for the opening game. However, coach Yeom thinks that he will wait for the opening game as the closing pitcher only when his physical condition is clear and his ball power is clear. Kim Young-woo may be waiting as a real closer in the opening match.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.