The tower of hard work built over two months eventually collapsed.
SSG Landers closer pitcher Seo Jin-yong finally conceded. Lotte Giants match at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 21st. Seo Jin-yong, who took the mound in the bottom of the ninth with a 6-2 lead, walked three consecutive batters and conceded a run on a sacrifice fly. It was the moment when Seo Jin-yong’s ERA changed from 0 to 0.44.
SSG, who led 4-2 until the 8th inning, ran away with 2 more points in the top of the 9th. Despite this, Seo Jin-yong took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning. It wasn’t a save situation, but a situation where he was already warming up in the bullpen. Since I took a break for three days after the match against the NC Dinos on the 17th, I needed to climb the hill for inspection.
However, Seo Jin-yong’s appearance on this day was different from before. When the strike call was rarely made on the outside course ball, it was clear that he was embarrassed. Lotte’s bottom batting order starting from number 7. Lotte, feeling defeat, sent out Jeong Bo-geun as backup instead of catcher Gangnam Yoo, but the result was a walk. In the following at-bats, Jin-yong Seo was unable to insert a winning shot from Seung-min Koh Seung-min and Seung-wook Park’s persistent cut, allowing walks to go on base one after another. Runner Lu stepped on the groove and conceded. Seo Jin-yong finished the game by catching Ahn Kwon-soo and An Chi-hong with a grounder after conceding a goal. 1 inning no hits, 3 walks, 1 run.
Before the match, SSG coach Kim Won-hyeong said, “It was made by myself to throw stably this far” over Seo Jin-yong’s scoreless 20 games. “It seems that the situation he has been through has raised Seo Jin-yong’s confidence,” he said. It seems that this kind of performance (0 average ERA) is also coming out.”
If so, does director Kim see the present Seo Jin-yong as a complete body? He shook his head and said, “You can’t be complacent. You have to always try to show (my skills). When you think you’ve found yours, you have to be more nervous.” It was also a message that we should prepare for the aftermath of zero, which could break someday.안전놀이터
For SSG, who achieved the winning series, the match that was not decided with certainty and the strongest finish were shaken. However, coach Kim did not omit Seo Jin-yong’s name when mentioning his outstanding performance. “I had a hard time stopping it at the end, but I still showed my strength as a closer. I broke the record for a game without an ERA with my first run today, but I did very well during the last game. I hope you will play the game with the mindset of starting again.”
SSG, which has its eyes on the top again, absolutely needs the power of closers in order for the dream of defending champion to come true. It is not so light that trust collapses with a single regret. This is the reason why coach Kim spared no effort in cheering Seo Jin-yong while singing about his focus and growth.