'How could this be?' Even the great An Woo-jin was outsmarted → The back story of LG's 'public declaration' as the three-run homer hero emerged

*This content was translated by AI.

Last month, LG Twins manager Yeom Kyung-yeop publicly declared that Song Chan-ui (27), who had been on the verge of breaking out but hadn't quite done so until last season, was now firmly established as a regular starter. And once again, Song Chan-ui delivered a decisive home run to secure a victory for his team.

On the 30th, LG defeated Kiwoom Heroes 5-3 in their regular-season home game at Seoul Jamsil Baseball Stadium in the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League.

With this win, LG avenged its loss on the 29th and concluded the midweek three-game series against Kiwoom with a 2-1 winning streak. LG finished with 55 wins and 42 losses, maintaining third place in the league. They trail second-place KT Wiz by 3.5 games and first-place Samsung Lions by four games. Depending on the results of remaining games, they have laid a solid foundation to potentially challenge for the top spot.

On this day, LG's Song Chan-ui started as the cleanup hitter and right fielder, going 2-for-4 with one home run, one RBI, and two runs scored. In the second inning, he led off against Kiwoom starter An Woo-jin with a single to left field. In the fourth inning, he flew out to center field.

Song Chan-ui's decisive blow came in the bottom of the sixth inning when his team was trailing 1-3. Leadoff hitter Park Hae-min hit a double into right-center field, followed by Austin hitting a single into left-center field, creating a no-out opportunity with runners on first and second. The next batter was Song Chan-ui. With a 1-1 count, he attacked the third pitch — a slider at 143.3 km/h aimed at the middle of the plate — launching a go-ahead three-run home run over the left-field wall. Exit velocity: 154.8 km/h; launch angle: 32.5 degrees; distance: 118.9 meters. This was Song Chan-ui's ninth home run of the season. LG ultimately turned the game around, leading 4-3, and added another run in the eighth inning on Park Hae-min's sacrifice fly to win 5-3.

After the game, Song Chan-ui told reporters during an interview: "First, (Park) Hae-min and Austin created a great opportunity, and I wanted to take advantage of it. Actually, before today's game, Coach Song Ji-man and Coach Mo Chang-min told me that when opportunities arise, I should think about the worst possible outcome. They said if I do that, such situations won't happen. In fact, if I had to imagine the worst-case scenario in the sixth inning, it would have been a double play. So I went into the plate calmly with the thought of hitting a ground ball to the shortstop and possibly grounding into a double play, but the result was good."

Continuing about the home run moment, he said: "The first pitch (ball) and the second pitch were both sliders. In particular, I swung and missed at the second slider. Actually, in my first at-bat in the second inning, two sliders came first, and then I connected with the third pitch — a fastball — for a hit. So I thought he wouldn't throw another fastball this time. I decided to swing if a slider came in on a good spot, and it worked out well, sending it over the wall." In the end, Song Chan-ui had read An Woo-jin's pitch selection perfectly.

Now, Song Chan-ui is just one home run away from achieving his first double-digit home run total of his career. He said: "Personally, my goal was to hit double-digit home runs. But I'm not thinking about the numbers right now. I don't consider myself a power hitter. I just want to hit more singles and doubles. That's the mindset I bring to every at-bat."

After today's game, Song Chan-ui's season statistics stand as follows: 73 games played, batting average of .298 (64 hits in 215 at-bats), nine home runs, 20 doubles, one triple, 36 RBIs, 43 runs scored, one stolen base (zero caught stealing), 22 walks, 12 hit-by-pitches, 58 strikeouts, slugging percentage of .526, on-base percentage of .394, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of .920. He is also batting .264 with runners in scoring position and .444 as a pinch hitter. How will Song Chan-ui's performance look by the end of this season? LG fans' expectations are rising.

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*This content was translated by AI.