*This content was translated by AI.
Baseball is often called the "sport of records." It is a common sense in the baseball world that the higher the batting average and the lower the ERA, the exponentially higher the probability of winning. However, this season, the LG Twins are showcasing a strange "winning baseball" that directly defies this long-standing baseball formula and mathematical probability. At the center of this is the godlike "grinding baseball" of coach Yeom Kyung-yeop (58), known as "Yeom-gal-ryang," who shines even brighter in times of crisis.
Looking at the recent 10-game metrics excluding wins and losses, LG's record is dismal. The team batting average for the 10th games is 0.232, remaining in the bottom tier of the league (9th place), and the team ERA (5.34), which indicates mound stability, is also close to a failing grade (9th place). Based solely on these metrics, it would not be surprising if they had recorded 2 wins and 8 losses or 3 wins and 7 losses, plummeting to the lower tier.
Even worse, a massive setback occurred as the team's core infielder Moon Bo-kyung (26) and outfielder Moon Sung-ju (29) were simultaneously sidelined due to injuries, leaving the lineup. It was the worst-case scenario where they had to play without their key infielder and catcher.
However, the actual results are the exact opposite. During this period, LG achieved an astonishing 7 wins and 3 losses (winning percentage 0.700), firmly holding onto the second-place spot in the league. They are even in second place with no games behind the leading Samsung Lions. Compared to Samsung Lions, who also recorded 7 wins and 3 losses with a team batting average of 0.305 and a team ERA of 4.25, it is immediately clear how much of a "miracle" LG's winning percentage is, created under such inefficient metrics and adverse conditions.
The reason this "metric-breaking" phenomenon is possible is due to the detailed game management and efficiency unique to coach Yeom Kyung-yeop. Coach Yeom scored runs through meticulous situational baseball and tenacious base-running plays that exploited opponent errors, even if they did not hit many home runs. On the mound, although they allowed many runs overall (ERA 5.34) during the entire game, they precisely deployed their winning lineup in games they won, tenaciously holding onto one-run leads. This is the extreme of "cost-effective baseball" in the Yeom-gal-ryang style, where they lose big when they lose but win stubbornly when they win. Since baseball is not soccer, run differential is a meaningless statistic. Coach Yeom also emphasized in a recent meeting with StarNews, "It is important to lose well when you lose. Even when losing, you need to gain what you must gain."
The LG Twins, having overcome the reef of key player injuries and accumulated victories through strategy and perseverance, are expected to turn this 7 wins and 3 losses record, achieved while neither the lineup nor the mound has returned to normal, into a tremendous asset in the upcoming full-scale standings race. It remains to be seen whether LG will regain the appearance of a perfect strong team with the return of their starters, or how far they can continue this strange grinding baseball.
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*This content was translated by AI.
