"WBC's only non-business trip." →"I'm angry."" LG Song Seung-ki said, "It was really fun."" How desperate you must have been [the scene of Incheon]

*This content was translated by AI.

He cried with a home run, but it was something that could dispel the sadness of being the only unrecognized pitcher in the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC). Song Seung-ki (24, LG Twins) made manager Yeom Kyung-yeop smile ahead of the new season.

Song Seung-ki started the 2026 KBO exhibition game against SSG Landers at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 19th and threw 46 pitches in three ⅓ innings, recording one hit (one homer), one walk, two strikeouts, and two runs.

Song Seung-ki, who joined the second round of 9 in 2021 and played only 8 games in 2 years, returned last year after completing his mandatory military service in the Armed Forces Sports Unit (Sangmu) and was very active. He played 144 innings in 28 games, 11 wins and 6 losses with an ERA of 3.50. If it wasn't for the monster rookie Ahn Hyun-min (KT), it would have been enough to win the Rookie of the Year award.

Was it the aftermath of the first full season season? Song Seung-ki was also listed on the final list of the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), but he showed problems in both his arrest and control in the warm-up match, and in the end, he was the only pitcher who never took the mound in the finals.

Coach Yeom Kyung-yeop said, "While talking on the phone yesterday, I thought it would be better to throw it today. I'm thinking about 50 pitches. "I heard he pitched in the bullpen at WBC," he said. "I went to spring camp once more (laughs). "I'm thinking of 70 next time, and I think I'll throw about 90 normally when the season starts," he said.

"You only have to throw until the fifth inning, so you have to throw well at first. The number is not important, but you have to throw even 70 well," he said.

Song Seung-ki, who took the mound, continued his hard work as if he was trying to shake off his regret for WBC. In the bottom of the first inning, Park Sung-han and Guillermo Herredia were hit with consecutive miscues and Choi Jung struck out three pitches.

In the second inning, he struck out another big shot Ko Myung-joon with an exquisite slider, recording consecutive three-way withdrawal and finishing with a simple three-way withdrawal in the third inning.

He originally planned 50 pitches, but he easily cooked the SSG lineup with aggressive pitching. The fourth inning was a bummer. He allowed a walk after a 10-pitch match with Herredia with one out, followed by an outside changeup thrown to Choi Jung and a two-run tie-breaking shot to the left.

It wasn't a real pitch, and the opposing batter was the best home run hitter in Korea. The walk became a source of concern, but it was also not absurd. The result was unfortunate, but it was a pitch that was not much to blame based on the content.

Of the 46 pitches, 35 pitches, or a whopping 76%, were inserted into the strike zone. Even in his first appearance, he recorded a maximum fastball speed of 146km/h, mixing sliders (10 pitches), curves (9 pitches), and change-ups (5 pitches) evenly and sprinkling fork balls (1 pitch).

Coach Yeom Kyung-yeop also expressed satisfaction after the game, saying, "I was worried about Seung-gi, but the speed was not bad overall for my first pitching, and I think coach Kim Kwang-sam prepared me well (in the WBC)."

Song Seung-ki also smiled brightly. "When I was on a chartered flight (to Korea) from Mimi, I heard that I was going to start today, so I've been preparing since then," he said. "I was in such a good condition after taking a good rest. So I thought I would be more nervous, but it was so much fun because I threw the ball after a long time. I feel like I've regained my initial commitment," he said.

There was a lot of regret about the WBC stage. He has been in bad shape since the warm-up match, and eventually became a card that cannot be easily taken out of WBC, which is full of sluggers.

Song Seung-ki said, "Honestly, my body didn't come up. I was in a hurry, so I tried to attack him more, but I think I got more sick," he said. "I wasn't in a good condition until the group stage in Japan, but I was playing catch in Miami, USA, and suddenly my physical condition came up. So I've been thinking 'I wish I could throw it' since then, but I threw it today and I think it's not bad, so it's okay."

"If I had played against good hitters, it would have been an opportunity to grow further," he said. "I was personally a little angry." I couldn't experience what I could experience, so I have a lot of that in my heart. Since it's a short-term competition, it's right to use only good players, but I thought I would throw at least one game, but I'm preparing for the season with this sadness. I think I have to repay you with my credit and grades," he vowed.

At the same time, Song Seung-ki said, "But I've enjoyed and experienced the atmosphere to some extent. I think that experience also helped me in a way," he added.

It was such a desperate mound, so regardless of the result, I was very satisfied with the game. Song Seung-ki said, "I threw it like that because I thought if I go aggressively as I did last year, I'll get a result. It went up to the fourth inning, so I had a desire to finish it, but suddenly I got strength. "I'm so sorry that I got a home run," he said, but when asked if the 10-pitch match with Herredia affected the previous batter's box, he said, "It was really fun to play like that. I think today's game helped me a lot to prepare for the season as well," he said.

He is planning to throw 70 pitches in the next game and 90 pitches in the first game since the opening of the season. Song Seung-ki said, "I think the build-up is going better than I thought. In the next game, I think it will be okay if we increase the number and increase the speed of recovery, he said once again, "It's been a long time since I took the mound, so it was really fun."

Song Seung-ki, who had his best year, doesn't get too greedy. The goal is to take the mound steadily and fill more than 150 innings. "Rather than my personal goal, there was a part where my face fell last year due to physical fitness issues, and my goal is to be able to show only a little bit this year," he said. "I want to fill 10 more innings than last year." That's the only thing I can do," he stressed.

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*This content was translated by AI.