Tied at one… SSG Seo Jin-yong pushes forkball to secure win
Professional baseball SSG Landers finisher Seo Jin-yong (30) is an extreme ‘two-pitch’ pitcher.
According to the baseball statistics website Statties, this season Seo Jin-yong threw a fastball at a rate of 51% and a forkball at a rate of 48.3%. He has a whopping 99.3% of both pitches.
The reason 메이저사이트 Seo Jin-yong ranks first in league saves despite using only two pitches is that it is difficult to distinguish between a fastball and a forkball.
It is difficult to distinguish between a 130 km/h forkball and a 140 km/h fastball. So is the movement of the ball.
Seo Jin-yong’s forkball falls in front of the batter. He posted 32 saves without a blown save this season with a forkball close to the harness.
Seo Jin-yong, who has been on a winning streak this season, felt extremely tense in the home game against the LG Twins held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 20th.
He wasn’t the only reason the team was on a five-game losing streak.
He pitched in relief in the top of the ninth inning, leading 2-1, and gave Shin Min-jae a left-handed hit and a stolen base, putting him in danger of a tie with 2 out and 2 base.
The last batter was Austin Dean, a foreign player from LG. One hit would bring the game back to square one, and the team’s losing streak could have been longer.
Seo Jin-yong threw down his main weapon, a forkball. He caught a strike with a 2-pitch forkball from a ball count of 1 ball, and pulled out a swing with a 3-pitch forkball.
Seo Jin-yong threw a forkball again with a winning shot. At this time, the ball scratched his hand and fell one-bound.
Catcher Lee Heung-ryun threw his body to block it, but the ball rolled away. In the meantime, second base runner Shin Min-jae headed to third base.
The difference between 2nd and 3rd is huge. A single wild fight could completely lose the flow of the game by giving up a tie.
It was a burdensome situation to throw a forkball that tends to bounce.
Commentator Jang Seong-ho, who was broadcasting the game that day, also said, “Seo Jin-yong has become very cramped.”
He had no choice but to throw a fastball. Po Sui Heung-ryun took a deep breath, pointed his finger at himself, and carefully signed.
It was a sign to believe in himself and throw a forkball again.
Seo Jin-yong did not shake his head. And he vigorously threw a forkball at 133 km per hour.
Austin, who boasts a high sense of hitting, moved the bat. The missed ball went to third base at high speed.
SSG third baseman Choi Jeong-eun rushed in, caught the ball, threw it to first base, and collapsed.
The first base judge’s first decision is safe. It was later corrected to an out through video review.
Seo Jin-yong’s boldness to throw a forkball confidently despite the heavy fighting pressure, Lee Heung-ryun’s confidence to throw the ball with confidence, and Choi Jeong-ui’s wholehearted effort to throw the ball with his body, SSG broke the chain of five consecutive losses.
Seo Jin-yong, whom I met after the match, was sweating profusely.
When asked about the situation in the ninth inning, he said, “It’s true that it was helpless, but the ball I was most confident in was a forkball, so I trusted the catcher and threw it.”
He smiled brightly, saying, “I entered the game with the thought that I would never lose a point no matter what I did, and I think I kept the victory with everyone’s tenacity.”