Once, the 157-kilometer LG hold king is unusual. 'Ballnet → wild throw → ⅓ innings replacement'... Even the speed is only 146 kilometers
Once, the 157-kilometer LG hold king is unusual. 'Ballnet → wild throw → ⅓ innings replacement'... Even the speed is only 146 kilometers
Blog Article
Jung Woo-young (26) of the LG Twins, who used to be the "King of Hold," is quite unusual. He even studied in the U.S. with his own money, but failed to show his performance in his first exhibition game.바카라
Jung Woo-young recorded two walks and no runs in ⅓ innings in the opening game of the 2025 KBO exhibition game (with 13,179 spectators entering) against KT Wiz at Suwon KT Wiz Park in Chowon-dong, Suwon on the 8th. LG lost 1-5 to KT as starting pitcher Yoni Chirinos collapsed and Jung Woo-young, who took the mound after him, failed to play the role of a firefighter.
The plot itself was not good. Jung took the mound in lieu of Chirinos in the fourth inning with one out and one on the first base, and faced left-handed batter Kim Min-hyuk for the first time. It was a straight walk. He could hardly put the ball in the strike zone. He also tried to throw a slider and two-seam fastball against right-handed batter Hwang Jae-gyun, but rather allowed him to advance further by throwing wild pitches. Fortunately, second baseman Shin Min-jae ran forward to catch the fourth pitch that Hwang hit, barely making his first out count.
He garnered his first strike in his ninth pitch after taking the mound. He garnered his first strike by putting a two-seam fastball on Bae Jeong-dae, and garnered a swing and miss with a slider. However, he allowed one run on wild pitches as his ball control was shaky again, and he finally walked Bae, before leaving the mound as a substitute for Song Seung-ki.
His ball speed was not that high. Jung threw a total of 14 pitches (seven two-seam fastballs, five sliders, and two fastballs) on the day, but his maximum speed was only 146 kilometers per hour. It is regrettable to think about the past when Jung won the hold king title by throwing fastballs at 157 kilometers per hour in 2022. He had only three strikes out of 14 balls, so his ball speed was less than expected.
It is all the more regrettable that Jung Woo-young put in a lot of effort ahead of this season. Jung conducted a personal training session at the Tread Athletic Center in Charlotte, North Carolina last winter. "I've been thinking about it for years that I want to learn advanced U.S. baseball," he said through his team. "Our coaches teach me well, but I was curious about what direction they teach me in the mainland baseball," he said. "I saw a place called Tread through SNS for a year, and I wanted to experience it myself. After visiting the training center late last year, I built up myself for about two weeks in Jamsil, and immediately moved to train for about six weeks on the tread. The speed limit was up to 147 kilometers from there," he said, explaining why he went to the U.S. to study with his own money.
The background was the sluggishness that continued after 2022. After graduating from Gapyeong Elementary, Gangnam Middle School, and Seoul High School, Jung joined LG as the 15th pick in the second round of the 2019 KBO Rookie Draft, and spent his prime in 2022. With his fast two-seam fastball of up to 157 kilometers per hour as his main weapon, he became the hold king with 2 wins, 3 losses, and a 2.64 ERA in 67 games.
Since then, the team has gone downhill. To make up for its dependence on two-seam fastballs, he tried to install sliders and change-ups, and constantly revised slide steps, which had been pointed out since his debut. However, as he failed to make up for his shortcomings, he has lost seven games, lost seven games, and posted an ERA of 4.72 with 14 holds over the past two years, moving away from the must-win group.
He did not expect to change at once. The Tread Athletic Center also asked Jung not to be impatient, and gradually changed his pitching form and routine accordingly. LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop also cited Jung as one of the players expected this season as he watched the process. As Jung once dominated the KBO league with his fastball with two-seam, LG still has high expectations.