*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 first start in a home game against the Hanwha Eagles at Seoul Jamsil Stadium in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League, pitching five innings on 88 pitches, allowing five hits, one walk, striking out three, and surrendering one run.
Prior to this game, Song had allowed just one run over 15⅓ innings in his previous three outings. Although he gave up one run on this day, he held opponents scoreless for five innings, posting an ERA of 0.89. By meeting the minimum innings requirement, he joined Caleb Boshill of the KT Wiz (0.78) as the league's only two pitchers with a sub-1.00 ERA.
Selected by the Twins in the second round, 87th overall, of 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 throwing like a monster, seemingly shedding that disappointment. Although he spent his first full season last year, effectively making this his second season, Song is dominating KBO League batters with significantly improved skills.
In his first game of the season against the KIA Tigers on the 1st, Song pitched four and a third innings, allowing one run, but did not complete the fifth inning. On the 7th, he threw five scoreless innings against the NC Dinos to secure his first win of the season. On the 14th, against the Lotte Giants, although luck did not favor him, he delivered six scoreless innings, recording the most impressive outing of the season so far.
Taking the mound on a chilly day, Song began by allowing hits to the leadoff batters in the first and second innings but quickly settled down, preventing any further runs.
He also weathered a crisis in the fourth inning. After striking out Kang Baek-ho with a swing-and-miss, Song allowed a ground ball single to Chae Eun-seong and faced a bases-loaded, one-out situation after an error by Oh Ji-hwan. However, he escaped the scoring threat by inducing a groundout to shortstop Kim Tae-yeon and a flyout to first baseman Choi Jae-hoon.
The fifth inning was disappointing. After walking Sim Woo-jun and striking out Yonatan Peraza with a low forkball following a sacrifice bunt, Song gave up a triple to Moon Hyun-bin, allowing one 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, with 38 pitches thrown. He also threw 26 sliders, 13 changeups, six curveballs, and five forkballs to overpower the Hanwha batters. His strike percentage was 67% (59/88).
His detailed statistics are also outstanding. He issued only five walks while recording 16 strikeouts. His walks per nine innings (2.21) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (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 figures.
While Yoni Chirinos and Im Chan-gyu have been somewhat inconsistent, Anders Tollhurst and Asia Quota Lachlan Wells have held strong. However, Song Seung-gi cannot be left out when explaining LG's high-flying performance. He is one of the main reasons why manager Yeom Kyung-yeop can smile.
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*This content was translated by AI.
