"I'll do what director Yeom Kyung-yeop said."" The 157-kilometer side arm 'Finally' has abandoned its desire to arrest... LG's winning head coach saves even the hold king of 'ERA 20.25'

*This content was translated by AI.

Jung Woo-young (27) of the LG Twins, who once reached the hold king with a 157-kilometer fastball, put everything down and predicted a 180-degree change.

Jung Woo-young is a right-handed sidearm who joined LG as the 15th pick in the second round of the KBO Rookie Draft in 2019 after graduating from Seoul High School. With fast two-seam fastballs as the main weapon, he became the hold king in 67 games in 2022 with 2 wins, 3 losses and 35 holds with a 2.64 ERA.

Having received the attention of Major League (ML) scouts with just two-seam fastballs, he lost ground while attempting to speed up his pitches. It was difficult to find a previous year with a 5.26 ERA in 91 games for three years after 2023.

Jung Woo-young said through the club in the first spring camp, "The original plan was to finish the 2022 season and perform surgery to remove bone fragments. The surgery was postponed a little for one reason or another, and I played the season in pain in the 2023 season," he said, looking back calmly over the past three years.

"As I felt the pain, there were a lot of changes in my form. At the same time, I kept trying to change to find a good form. The obsession with restraint was also too much. "I grew up without knowing my exact routine when I was fast-paced, so I didn't know what to do about the slump," he added.

It's not that I didn't try. It was a matter of direction setting. Jung Woo-young went to Tread Athletic, a famous training center in the U.S., for a month at his own expense ahead of the 2025 season. The focus was on finding the ball in his prime, and the result was a 20.25 ERA in four games in the 2025 season.

There was a person who looked at Jung Woo-young, who couldn't decide. Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop, who led LG to two Korean Series championships. Last year, coach Yeom said, "I don't think the pitching form I learned in the U.S. has settled down yet due to Jung Woo-young's initial slump. How can that be done overnight. Even if it feels good in the United States, it takes time to settle down. If it's Jung Woo-young, we can't force anything. We're just giving directions," he said.

Throughout his tenure, Yeom wanted Jung Woo-young to look at himself in the present, not the past. Coach Yeom said, "I played one season, but I didn't get caught. If so, you have to fill in the details whether you add a breaking ball or increase your ball control," he said. "Since the advantage (of restraint) has disappeared, you have to fill it with something else to become a good pitcher." But it wasn't filled," he pointed out coldly.

After three years of trial and error, Jung Woo-young abandoned her obsession with arrest. He said, "Before I started the 2025 season, I went to the U.S. and learned baseball. It was a good experience, but looking back, I was a little disappointed from the beginning," he said. "At the time of the season, I didn't fight the batter on the mound, I fought myself. I didn't even have a form established, so I cared too much about myself. So I couldn't have had a good result," he said.

Director Yeom, who was watching silently, stepped up. Jung Woo-young said, "I talked a lot with the coach during the closing camp last year. The coach said to make it as simple as possible on the mound. He said, "I've been doing simple throwing since the last camp until now." He said, "I'm not a promising player, but a career player, so he just changed his mind and told me not to fight him on the mound. He said that even if I simply empty my thoughts and throw them, I can perform well enough with my talent. He kept telling me to throw it simply," I recalled.

As he abandoned his obsession with arrest, he gradually became a game management. Jung Woo-young said, "Compared to last year and now, it has improved a lot except for the speed limit. I'm still lacking, but the pitching content is good, and a lot of the balls that I used to fly come into the team," he said. "Even the day before the Blue and White match, the coach and the head coach told me what was uncomfortable when I was on the mound. I tried to be more comfortable on the mound with such advice in mind. The head coach said he became much more comfortable after the Cheongbaek match. I want to do it steadily and comfortably," he said with a smile.

The LG team moved to Okinawa, Japan, on the 25th after the first spring camp in Arizona, USA, for about a month. LG fans may see unfamiliar Jung Woo-young in the second camp, which is focused on actual games. Jung Woo-young said, "Fans will remember Jung Woo-young when his speed went up a lot. "But I think it's Jung Woo-young's pitch to create a ground ball while taking the number of pitches in the inning efficiently," he said.

Whether coach Yeom, who suggested direction, will save Jung Woo-young is an interesting point to watch this season. Jung Woo-young said, "The point is to throw simple pitching. I have to throw it comfortably so that the viewers can see it comfortably," he said with strength. "As the director said, I'm trying to throw it simply. I'm always practicing simple throwing on the mound. This is the direction that the director said."

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*This content was translated by AI.