"Brother, I'll throw to first base (to second base)." Son Seong-bin's initial plan secured the top spot... A 24-year-old catcher growing stronger, giving Lotte great support

*This content was translated by AI.

The decisive moment when Lotte Giants were able to secure a winning series against LG Twins for the first time in about a year. Behind this was Lotte's starting catcher Son Seong-bin (24), whose strategic planning made it possible.

On the 28th, Lotte defeated LG 11-9 in a regular-season home game at Busan Sajik Baseball Stadium in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League.

True to their nickname "Ello-Rashiko" (a term for the LG vs. Lotte matchup), every game was a fierce contest. Tension remained high until the end of the 9th inning on the 28th.

With Lotte leading 11-9, the top of the 9th inning with no outs and runners on first and second was a critical crisis. Moon Sung-ju and Shin Min-jae reached base with consecutive hits, and pinch-hitter Koo Bon-hyuk stepped up to the plate. If Koo Bon-hyuk got a hit, the situation would have been dire, as Park Hae-min and Austin, who were performing well with 2 and 3 hits and 5 RBIs respectively that day, were next in the lineup.

However, Son Seong-bin's strong arm shone brightly here. Son Seong-bin caught Choi Jun-yong's high outside pitch and threw it to second base to tag out Moon Sung-ju. Moon Sung-ju, who had taken a long lead, hurriedly returned to the base, but video review confirmed that Son Seong-bin's throw was faster.

This was a scene born from meticulous calculation. After the game, Son Seong-bin spoke to reporters, revealing the details: "There were runners on first and second. When Coach (Kim) Sang-jin came up, I told (Jeon) Min-jae beforehand, 'I'm going to throw to (second base).' I told center fielder (Kim) Dong-hyuk, 'Please move a bit forward just in case.' And I told (Choi) Jun-yong, 'I'll throw to first base (to second base), so please throw it a bit high on the outside.'"

Everything went exactly as Son Seong-bin had planned. Son Seong-bin said, "At first, I thought he was safe. But after seeing the (video review) result, he was out, and I let out a sigh of relief." He then credited his teammates, saying, "(Choi) Jun-yong threw perfectly. And (Jeon) Min-jae tagged perfectly. Even though it went to video review, he was out."

Why did he make such a bold choice from the first pitch? He was wary of LG batters' ability to execute strategies, including sacrifice bunts and fake bunt-and-slash plays. Son Seong-bin explained, "Even if I can't get the runner out with my throw, if I reduce the gap between bases, there's a chance the batter will be out at third base if he mishandles a bunt. I threw with maximum trust in our fielders."

Thanks to this, Lotte secured a winning series against LG, finishing with 33 wins, 2 ties, and 41 losses. They maintained a two-game lead over the 7th-place NC Dinos (35 wins, 1 tie, 39 losses), who also won on the same day. Lotte achieved a winning series against LG for the first time since the Busan series from the 1-3 last year, about a year later.

Regarding his recently increased pickoff success rate, Son Seong-bin calmly replied, "In a way, it's luck. I can't just kill runners because I want to; I just do my best within my role."

On this day, Son Seong-bin also became a key figure in Lotte's victory with 4 hits in 4 at-bats, including 3 doubles and 2 RBIs. The KBO League is already struggling due to a shortage of young catchers. With a catcher growing stronger by the day, Lotte can only feel reassured.

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*This content was translated by AI.