"You're throwing like ENCE!" ...Cheering, the future of LG has awakened
"You're throwing like ENCE!" ...Cheering, the future of LG has awakened
Blog Article
This is not the time to care about left and right corner weeks, but I said I'm throwing like an ENC."메이저사이트
LG Twins left-hander Son Ju-young got off to a fresh start to the 2025 season. On March 23, he won the game against the Lotte Giants by allowing one hit, two walks and five strikeouts in seven innings. He continued his cruise with 3-1 with a 3.81 ERA in his first five games until the game against SSG Landers on April 19.
However, Son Joo-young was shaken with seven hits, three walks, one strikeout and five runs (three earned) in three ⅔ innings against the KIA Tigers on April 25. He rebounded with five hits, one homer, two walks, four strikeouts and two runs in five innings against SSG on the 2nd, and became the winning pitcher with six hits, two walks, six strikeouts and three runs in six innings against the Samsung Lions on the 10th, but struggled with seven hits, four walks, four strikeouts and four runs in four ⅔ against KT Wiz on the 17th.
LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop had a personal interview with Son and pointed out the issue. He pointed out that although Son throws fast balls around 150 kilometers per hour, his pitching pattern is monotonous.
Coach Yeom Kyung-yeop ordered Son Joo-young to increase the curveball ratio and refine the completeness of the fork ball. On top of that, he said that it would be better to use the top and bottom more than throwing the fastball too accurately to the left and right corners of the strike zone.
Son Ju-young certainly followed the advice of the head coach. At the match against SSG on the 23rd, he threw 27 of the 99 pitches with curves, stealing the timing of batters. The result was a quality start+ (more than 7 innings, 3 earned runs or less) pitching in seven innings, and became a winning pitcher.
"Son has a good fastball, but batters make predictions whenever he throws a slider. If this happens, the number of pitches will increase and the number of matches will increase," Yeom Kyung-yeop said before the match against SSG on Sunday. "Batters feel uncomfortable because Son's curve strike ratio increases on the previous day. He was able to pitch effectively thanks to the curveball."
During the interview with Son, Yeom mentioned left-hander Detrick N.S. who played for LG last year. N.S. was expected to play the role of the first starter, but posted only 13 wins, six losses and an earned run average of 4.19 in 167 ⅔ innings in 30 games. Even considering that strong winds of riding and pitching blew throughout the entire league, it was hard to give him a good score.
Coach Yeom Kyung-yeop said Son's growth pains this year are similar to those that he exposed to last year. He used fastballs in the early 150km/h range and high-quality cut fastballs, but struggled due to insufficient third pitching.
"On days when Son is not good at controlling curves, he already throws almost 100 pitches in the fifth inning. I explained this part to Son," Yeom said with a smile. "His pitching style was similar, and I could throw enough curves, but he didn't throw well."
"Son shouldn't try to fight with Connwick now. It's important to throw aggressively. It's not too late to fight with control even if it's from five years from now," he added.
Since the opening of the pennant race in the 2025 season, LG has been steadily leading the league, but it is not without anxiety factors. As both pitching and hitting have injuries to their main players, starting pitchers need to take the lead in order to become more comfortable. This is why Son needs to take another step forward.