*This content was translated by AI.
Lotte Giants' 2002-born battery duo Kim Jin-wook (24) and Son Seong-bin (24), who are leading the team's recent upward trend, boast a genuine friendship filled with playful bickering.
This season, Lotte started with difficulty, winning the first two games of the season opener before losing seven straight. The turning point for the team, which could have fallen deeper into a slump, came in the game against Busan KT Wiz on the 8th. Kim Tae-hyung (59), Lotte manager, boldly deployed Son Seong-bin at home to seek a turnaround, and the result was optimal. Kim Jin-wook, who has been in sync with Son Seong-bin, a fellow 2021 KBO rookie draft pick, delivered a dominant start (8 innings, 100 pitches, 1 earned run), breaking the team's losing streak.
On the 15th, the Jamsil LG Twins game was another contest where Kim Jin-wook instilled confidence in Lotte. Through pitching that actively utilized the Automatic Ball-Strike System (ABS) and the boundaries of the strike zone, he secured a second consecutive victory for Lotte with a scoreless outing over 6⅔ innings. The highlight was particularly his ability to record swinging strikeouts against top left-handed batters in the league, Moon Bo-kyung and Shin Min-jae, by precisely throwing pitches just outside the strike zone. He secured two strikes with a slider and then placed a fastball in a similar location, leaving both batters unable to make contact.
Kim Jin-wook said on the 15th at Gyeonggi Stadium, "(Son) Seong-bin tried to rely mainly on fastballs. Most of the strikeouts were due to Seong-bin's lead. "(In the bottom of the 5th inning) when I was about to face Shin Min-jae, I actually wanted to throw one more curveball. But Seong-bin signaled for a fastball one more time. So I trusted Seong-bin and threw it," attributing the success to his catcher.
It was a kind gesture to neatly organize the opponent's power analysis materials that were scattered on the dugout bench during the interview. Kim Jin-wook responded, "I organized them just in case (Son) Seong-bin was looking for (the materials)," and added with a bashful smile, "Whenever there is an interview or article about (Son) Seong-bin, I always send him the link. Of course, there are articles about me too, but I think I send them via KakaoTalk because I want Seong-bin to feel encouraged by reading good articles."
In a way, it seems like a one-sided friendship. Kim Jin-wook awkwardly said, "(Son) Seong-bin won't let me go. Even when I was heading down just now, he said I didn't do well. I told him to focus, and he replied, 'Okay, I'm sorry.'"
On the following day, the 16th, I asked the person involved, Son Seong-bin, to clarify this point. Son Seong-bin shook his head repeatedly and said, "I really send everything I do. Whether it's an article or Instagram, if I appear, I send it all. Even when I'm right there, I send it." He continued, "It's right that I don't send it to (Kim) Jin-wook. I also read Jin-wook's articles. Maybe because I read them a lot, the algorithm shows Jin-wook appearing very frequently, whether it's 'Sajik Scuba' or something else," but added, "I deliberately do not send it. Jin-wook has a tendency to say, 'I wrote this.' So I shouldn't give him any encouragement. That's why I did the same when I came down yesterday (the 15th)."
Just as always, Son Seong-bin of Lotte is known for his bright nature and constant smile. However, when asked about the recent strong performances of Lotte pitchers alongside Kim Jin-wook, he calmly drew a line, stating, "Our pitchers are performing too well. It's not because I'm doing well. I believe that a good catcher is created by the pitcher, so I don't think it's due to my performance."
However, it is true that Lotte's pitching performance has improved since Son Seong-bin started as the pitcher. In his first six starts as a starter, he allowed only seven earned runs, demonstrating that Lotte's pitching staff is capable of effective "saltwater" pitching. Son Seong-bin responded, "Rather than me leading the pitchers, the power analysis team and the battery coaches do an excellent job of pinpointing the key points we need to focus on before each game. I focus on the pitchers and quickly assess their condition on the day of the game. Results are coming in now, but... I am still surprised by the results exceeding expectations."
There was a reason behind Kim Jin-wook's recent strong performance. Son Seong-bin explained, "(Kim) Jin-wook's fast pitches were excellent in the last two games. The pitches that struck out Shin Min-jae and Moon Bo-kyung were also just a matter of probability. Based on the pitch patterns laid out earlier, I thought a fastball would yield better results."
He further emphasized, "This strikeout was possible because Jin-wook threw well. Even if I had signaled for a fastball, if Jin-wook had thrown a bad pitch, the result would not have been good. Therefore, Jin-wook performed better than I did. Because I have confidence in Jin-wook, I can give signals so actively."
It is a rare opportunity to experience consecutive business trips. While consecutive trips are not easy in a physically demanding position, the 24th-year-old catcher seized the chance to Oh Hi-ryeo (Auditor).
Son Seong-bin stated, "It seems that the catcher position definitely involves an experiential aspect that cannot be ignored. The more games one plays, the more one learns by actually playing on the field compared to learning outside the stadium. Considering that there are friends of similar age who want to play but cannot, I believe I must do this Gi Hoe-e (Auditor) every single day," he said emphatically.
He added, "Honestly, right now it's about defense rather than hitting. I don't think I'm playing because I'm hitting well. So I focus on and pay attention to our pitchers." He also expressed his ambitious goal, stating, "My target is not personal statistics, but to stay healthy and play games that allow our team to keep winning."
<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>
*This content was translated by AI.
