LG pitcher Baek Seung-hyun recorded his first professional save. He was applauded for saving the tying run with one out in the ninth inning.
Baek Seung-hyun took the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning with the score 3-2 in favor of Samsung at Jamsil Stadium on 메이저사이트 Thursday. Ham Deok-ju, who pitched the ninth inning, was facing a bases-loaded situation after a walk and an error.
Baek Seung-hyun struck out the first batter, Kang Min-ho, on a slider, and Kim Dong-yeop flied out to shortstop to end the game.
“I’m not too excited about it yet, but I think I’m most satisfied that I was able to help the team,” Baek said of his first save.
He warmed up in the bullpen in the ninth inning, when Ham Deok-ju loaded the bases. “I wasn’t nervous, I just thought, ‘I have to go up there and stop him. There was no time to be nervous,” he said.
“I thought I shouldn’t give up a run. I was confident in my slider today, so I threw a lot of sliders, but I just thought that if it went to the center, I shouldn’t throw it. I was a little bit more focused.”
With the bases loaded, Baek was thankful for Park Dong-won, who did a good job of blocking a one-base ball while facing the first batter, Kang Min-ho. Baek Seung-hyun said, “After Dong-won finished, I kept saying thank you to him. I don’t think it would have been a good result without his lead,” said Baek.
He said he has no regrets about switching to pitching. Baek Seung-hyun joined the team as a shortstop prospect, but switched to pitching in the middle of the 2020 season. “I felt a wall as a hitter,” Baek said.
He started pitching in the 2021 season and pitched in the first and second teams. After switching to pitching, he was recognized for his 150-kilometer fastball, but he had a tough time after the 2021 season when he underwent elbow surgery.
“When (LG’s bullpen) was ranked first in the league, I thought a little bit about how to survive there, but since I couldn’t get it back, I tried to hold on for dear life,” Baek said.
When asked about his future goals, Baek Seung-hyun said, “I don’t have any big goals. I think my goal is to not get sick all the time and to go up to the mound and throw the ball one more time no matter what,” he said. “Since I started late, I want to go out to the ballpark a lot and try to play. Other than that, I don’t have a lot of other goals.”