'Only Korean Pitcher with Sub-1.00 ERA' LG Song Seung-gi: From 11 Wins Last Year to 'I Can't Even Imagine How Successful This Will Be'

*This content was translated by AI.

It is often said that even the most promising players struggle in their second season, giving rise to the term 'sophomore jinx.' However, this does not apply at all to Song Seung-gi (24, LG Twins).

On the 21st, Song Seung-gi made his season debut as the starting pitcher in a home game against the Hanwha Eagles at Seoul Jamsil Stadium, throwing 88 pitches over 5 innings, allowing 5 hits, 1 walk, recording 3 strikeouts, and surrendering 1 run.

Prior to this game, Song had allowed just 1 run over 15 1/3 innings in his previous three outings. Although he gave up a run on this day, he held the line for 5 innings, posting an ERA of 0.89. By meeting the required innings threshold, he joined Caleb Boshill of the KT Wiz (0.78) as the league's only pitcher with a sub-1.00 ERA.

Selected by the Twins in the second round, 87th overall, in the 2021 Rookie Draft, Song initially failed to make an impact in his first two seasons. However, he steadily built his starting experience while serving in the Army Baseball Team (Sangmu), leading to remarkable growth.

Last year, as a rookie, Song delivered an impressive performance with 11 wins (6 losses) and a 3.50 ERA, earning a spot on the national team and establishing himself as a representative left-handed pitcher in the league.

Although Song participated in the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), he did not appear in a single game, leaving him with lingering regrets. This season, however, he has been unleashing monstrous pitching performances as if shedding that disappointment. While last year was technically his first full season, it effectively served as his second, and Song is now overwhelming KBO League batters with significantly improved skills.

In his first game of the season against the KIA Tigers on the 1st, Song pitched 4 1/3 innings allowing 1 run but did not complete the 5th inning. On the 7th, he delivered a scoreless 5-inning performance against the NC Dinos to secure his first win of the season. On the 14th, against the Lotte Giants, although he did not get the win, he threw a scoreless 6-inning outing, recording the most impressive pitching performance of the season so far.

Facing chilly weather on this day, Song began by allowing hits to the leadoff batters in the 1st and 2nd innings but quickly settled down, preventing any further runs.

He also navigated a crisis in the 4th inning well. After striking out Kang Baek-ho with a swing-and-miss, Song allowed a ground-rule double to Chae Eun-seong and faced a bases-loaded, one-out situation due to a fielding error by Oh Ji-hwan. However, he escaped the scoring threat by inducing a groundout from Kim Tae-yeon at shortstop and a flyout from Choi Jae-hoon at first base.

The 5th inning was disappointing. After issuing a walk to Sim Woo-jun, Song struck out Yonathan Peraza with a low forkball following a sacrifice bunt. However, he then allowed a triple to Moon Hyun-bin, giving up a run. With additional scoring threats looming, he retired Kang Baek-ho with a flyout to left field and left the mound with a 5-1 lead, having secured the victory conditions.

His fastball reached a top speed of 146 km/h, and he threw 38 fastballs. He also threw 26 sliders, 13 changeups, 6 curveballs, and 5 forkballs to dominate the Hanwha batters. His strike percentage was 67% (59/88).

His detailed metrics are also outstanding. He issued only 5 walks while recording 16 strikeouts. His walks per 9 innings (2.21) and his strikeout-to-walk ratio (K/BB) of 3.20 are the best among LG's starting pitchers. His batting average against (0.208) and walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) of 0.89 are both among the league's top rankings.

While Yoni Chirinos and Im Chan-gyu have been somewhat inconsistent, Anders Tollhurst and Asia Quota Lachlan Wells have held up well. However, Song Seung-gi cannot be excluded when explaining LG's high-flying performance. He is one of the major reasons why manager Yeom Kyung-yeop can smile.

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*This content was translated by AI.