SSG Song Young-jin achieved a quality start with a bold pitch in the game against LG in Jamsil on the 26th. He threw 85 pitches in 6 innings, and the balls counted as fastballs accounted for 71 pitches, a whopping 83.5%. He did throw a slider curve forkball, but his percentage was minimal. The pitch was not well caught, so wild fighting poured out.
After the game, Song Young-jin said an interesting story, saying, “A fastball can be a cutter or a sinker.” He explained that unlike other pitchers, he throws his fastball with his middle finger, not his index finger. As a result, the movement of the fastball is different, and it has become difficult for batters to hit.
If you look at it differently, it can be said that the control is not the way you want, or that the elaborate corner work is not easy. However, director Kim Won-hyung sees no need to touch it.
Head coach Kim Won-hyung said of Song Young-jin’s pitching ahead of the game on the 27th, “There is no need to change the good ones. He throws a slider and curve ball for the breaking ball. I did. The fastball is good, but do I have to touch it?”
Regarding the unique fastball movement, he explained, “There are not many cases where the fastball gets caught in the middle finger. Usually, the arm rotates and gets caught in the index finger.
Coach Won-hyeong Kim frankly confessed that he was unaware of Song Young-jin’s unique fastball movement even during the spring camp. He said, “Actually, I didn’t know either. I didn’t know at camp either. When I saw it in Cheongbaekjeon, the tip of the ball moved slightly. I saw it from a distance and it seemed to fall without power, so I did something.”
At this point, I was just watching. Director Kim Won-hyung laughed, saying, “I just passed by, but when I heard about the catchers, it was difficult to catch because there was movement. After trusting him like that, he emerged as the dark horse of the rookie king. 안전놀이터
Director Kim Won-hyeong has another reason to trust Song Young-jin. Manager Kim Won-hyeong said, “He is a player who has nothing to worry about. He manages himself very well. Even his seniors acknowledge it. During spring camp, nighttime training was voluntary, but he and his mate (Lee) Rowoon found training every day. It’s not a show. He is a player with a lot of potential.”
Meanwhile, Song Young-jin’s next start is expected to be against Gocheok Kiwoom on May 7th. Manager Kim Won-hyung decided to keep the six players who started so far in the rotation until a new foreign pitcher arrives to replace Annie Romero. It is a modified 5-person rotation in which 5 people are eliminated from the 1st group once. The appearance of Song Young-jin became a stimulus and a source of fatigue relief for the existing starting pitchers.