Because of Seo Jin-yong, the King of Salvation..
SSG never lost first place last year and won the regular season with 'Wire to Wire', advancing directly to the Korean Series.
The biggest problem for SSG ahead of the Korean Series was the closing pitcher. There was no solid closer to protect the tailgate.
Last year, SSG's closing pitcher changed from Kim Taek-hyung to Seo Jin-yong and Moon Seung-won, but none of them were able to settle down properly.
Ahead of the Korean Series, SSG coach Kim Won-hyung declared a group closing system, saying, "Rather than entrusting the closing pitcher to one player, we decided to use him according to the situation."
At that time, SSG exposed backdoor anxiety from the first game. Amid the ups and downs, they were ahead 5-4, but were defeated again in the 9th inning. They tied the game in the 9th inning, but gave up the winning run in the 10th inning and drank from the bitter cup of defeat. It was a loss despite putting foreign pitcher Sean Morimando, a starting resource, in the bullpen.
In the end, they won the overall championship by defeating Kiwoom Heroes with 4 wins and 2 losses, but SSG had to experience the dizzying feeling of losing the first game.
However, in this year's fall baseball season, we are more confident than ever about tailgate enforcement. There is a certain finisher in Seo Jin-yong.
Seo Jin-yong, who continued to get opportunities but was unable to establish trust as a closing pitcher, stood tall as the best closing pitcher in the league this year. He appeared in 69 games, making 42 saves (5 wins, 4 losses) and an ERA of 2.59.
He showed remarkable growth. From the season opening to the Sajik Lotte Giants match on May 21st, he had a 20-game scoreless streak, and did not record a single blown save until his 30th save of the season in the Sajik Lotte matchup on August 5th.
Although he showed some ups and downs in September, he regained balance in good times and showed signs of revival at the end of the season. He also had one win and four saves in the final five games of the season, boosting his confidence again.
Seo Jin-yong said, "As I got into the second half of the year and my stamina fell, I tried to use my body strength. However, since my strength was not low, I thought it would be better to simply throw. I tried not to exert strength in my upper body, but when I got on the mound, I gained strength, so it was good. “But I recently found a really good balance,” he explained.
He continued, "When I was feeling good, I kept watching the video and said, 'Let's find this feeling,' and I found it. I regained my confidence and my velocity came back up," and did not hide his excitement, saying, "I had a lot of worries, but now my expectations are even higher."
Seo Jin-yong has never harvested his saves in the postseason. His postseason career records are also not very good, with no wins or saves, one loss, and an ERA of 8.44.
However, having been crowned the King of Salvation, he promised to show a different side this year.
Seo Jin-yong said, "Now there are important games left. I have to play the role as a closing pitcher. I think I need to show off my form as a relief king on the fall baseball stage. I have been hit a lot on the postseason stage, so I think I can do well." was fully revealed.