“In the case of away games, the pitching coaches watched the video together until dawn. I think I watched the pitching form whenever I saw the mirror like an obsession.”
“Glasses ace” Park Se-woong (29, Lotte Giants) is having a particularly difficult year this year. In particular, he has suffered a lot recently. Park Se-woong has no longer been able to achieve a victory since he earned his sixth win (11-2 victory) of the season by pitching six innings of one run against the Sajik KIA Tigers on June 27. From the Doosan Bears match in Jamsil on the 3rd of last month to the KIA match in Gwangju on the 21st, he had only three losses in eight games, and his team had only one win and seven losses. The player himself had no choice but to be disastrous as the pattern of Lotte losing if only Park Se-woong took the mound over the past two months.
He was sluggish, and his luck was not consistent because he could not get help from the batters. Park had 44 innings and an earned run average of 6.34 in eight games, when his team had only one win and seven losses, but had three quality starts. At the match against Doosan Bears in Ulsan on April 18, he allowed three runs in eight innings, recording a complete defeat (2-3 loss).
Park Se-woong laid the groundwork for a rebound in the match against the Sajik Hanwha Eagles on Sunday. He pitched seven innings of 96 pitches, three hits, three strikeouts, six strikeouts, and one run, laying the groundwork for his team to come from behind to win 3-1. While Park was on the mound, the team was on the verge of losing the game due to lack of successful batters, but Ko Seung-min, Victor Reyes, Yoon Dong-hee, and Information-geun showed their support and turned the game around. Without Park’s outstanding pitching in the seven innings, it would not have been possible to turn the game around at the last minute.
His aggressive pitching was effective. Park threw 96 pitches and recorded 33 balls on the day. He allowed a walk to leadoff hitter Noh Si-hwan at the top of the seventh inning when the score was 0-0, and although he lost the first run, his pitching itself was good. While mainly throwing fastballs (32) and sliders (35), he mixed folk balls (14), curves (9), and change-up (6). The maximum speed of fastballs was 149 kilometers.
After the game, Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung said, “Park Se-woong gave a really good pitch today (27th) by allowing one run in seven innings overcoming his slump. It was a pitch worthy of the name Park Se-woong.”
Park Se-woong said, “I think I liked everything except for the situation where I gave a score in the seventh inning. I think I increased the out count quickly, and I think I was able to play well because I led the innings well.”
I looked back on the past time when I struggled to get back on track. Park Se-woong said, “I had a lot of thoughts as I continued to throw well and remain sluggish. I received a lot of help from the two pitching coaches. In the case of away games, the pitching coaches watched videos together until dawn and talked together to try to find problems. I also remember that in order to escape this slump, I tried to catch the pitching form whenever I saw a mirror like an obsession, and I just did it on the street.” 먹튀검증
He said Kim’s advice to throw aggressive pitches was helpful. “The coach told me to keep trying after throwing the last game. Try striking out three pitches and trying to win against a batter within four pitches,” Park said. “Thinking about those things, I played today’s game (27th), and I feel happy because I could help my team to win another important game. Rather than trying to deceive the batter, I tried to play a fast game. It may not be easy to do so in a moment, but I’m trying my best.”
Lotte ranked eighth with 52 wins, 61 losses and three ties for this season. There are many things to overcome, but it is still too early to give up. It narrowed the gap to two games with the seventh-ranked Hanwha Eagles and the sixth-ranked SSG, and three games with the fifth-ranked KT Wiz, and is still in sight. Thanks to Park Se-woong’s good pitching on the day, Lotte was able to revive its momentum to catch up at the last minute.
Manager Kim stressed that Park Se-woong should lead the team’s victory like an ace if Lotte is to enter the semi-finals to the end. “The starting pitcher is hardly performing his duties except for two foreigners. Depending on how much more Park Se-woong and Kim Jin-wook will throw in the starting pitcher in the future. It is no exaggeration to say that the two players have a lot of wins and losses in the remaining games. That is how important it is. We have to go at least four wins and two losses each week. That is why we regret (Park) more than we expected. I don’t know how many times Se-woong will play in the remaining games, but it depends on how much Se-woong plays. If Se-woong catches the game, he can lighten the mood.”
Park Se-woong was feeling the responsibility. He said, “If I had done as well as last year, I think we would be doing a little better. I think that’s a little bit disappointing.”
Despite all the hard work, Park said she still has a long way to go. “I don’t think there is an answer in baseball. Just because I find the answer doesn’t mean that I can pitch well, and if I have such an answer, everyone will pitch well and hit well. I think the answer should be found until I take off my baseball uniform,” Park said calmly.
“I will prepare as if I prepared for the next game as well. I want to prepare more thoroughly for the next game without letting my guard down on the things that I need to prepare as an athlete because I enjoyed a single game,” he said.