In this file photo from June 25, 2024, Song Sung-mun of the Kiwoom Heroes celebrates after hitting a single against the NC Dinos during a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jul. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — Before the start of the 2024 South Korean baseball season, Kiwoom Heroes infielder Song Sung-mun reflected on the first nine years of his career and didn’t like where he was standing.
At 27, he fell on the older side of the ledger on the youthful Kiwoom Heroes, but it dawned on him that he hadn’t really accomplished much since making his Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) debut out of high school in 2015.
So he decided to change things up — out of maturity and desperation.
“Honestly, no team would keep giving chances to old guys who don’t produce. I felt my job would be in danger unless I turned things around,” Song said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Tuesday, before the Heroes hosted the KT Wiz at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. “I’ve seen some of the older guys just fade into obscurity. I decided that if I wanted to play baseball for a long time, then I’d have to build everything in my life around baseball.
“I love baseball,” Song continued. “There are moments when I want to drop everything and just get some rest. But I also know that if I don’t play well and get cut from the team, then I’ll have all the free time in the world to rest. As long as I am playing the game I love, I want to keep my focus just on that.”
That singular focus has worked wonders so far this season. Song, after cutting down on fried food and soft drinks while rebuilding his weightlifting routine, is noticeably buff, bulging biceps having replaced scrawny arms of his past self.
The changed body has led to strong numbers across the board too. Through 85 games, Song already has 11 home runs, only two shy of his career high set in 142 games two years ago. He is slugging at a .527 clip, after not even topping the .400 mark in any of his past four years.
Song Sung-mun of the Kiwoom Heroes poses for a photo after an interview with Yonhap News Agency at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
Song also has more walks (39) than strikeouts (34), and that has translated to a career-best .419 on-base percentage, the fourth-highest mark in the KBO.
He is fifth in batting average with .350 — this by a hitter whose career mark before this season was .256.
With eight steals, Song has swiped more bags this year than the previous nine years combined.
Song earned his first All-Star nod earlier this month. And as Song enters his late 20s, a period that many regard as an athletic prime, it is fair to wonder whether this season will end up being the new norm or the aberration for Song.
Song said he is determined not to become a one-hit wonder. And a recent pep talk from his former Heroes teammate and current major leaguer, Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants, has been helpful.
“Earlier in the season, I told reporters, ‘I can’t believe I am putting up such good numbers.’ And Jung-hoo must have read some of those articles,” Song said. “He told me, ‘You should stop selling yourself so short. You should try to become a more consistent player and have more confidence in yourself.’ And that made me change my mindset.
“There are a lot of players who do well maybe for half a season and just disappear,” Song continued. “And I don’t want to end up like that.”
Asked if he thought he had just given himself a new lease on his career, Song said: “No one can predict what will happen down the road, but at least I feel like I am helping the team for the first time in my career. I am satisfied with the whole process.”
Song Sung-mun of the Kiwoom Heroes gets a base hit against the Samsung Lions during a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on June 8, 2024, in this file photo provided by the Heroes. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
Song said he has to keep reminding himself not to think too much about numbers. It used to be more difficult to do earlier in the season, when Song would look at the scoreboard and see gaudy numbers next to his name that he wasn’t accustomed to seeing.
“When I was hitting well earlier, I tried so hard to maintain a high batting average. But then I fell all the way to around .260,” Song said of his mid-May nosedive. His batting average reached a season-high .355 on April 19 but tumbled to .266 on May 11. He somehow dragged it up to .311 over the next 20 days.
“I realized consciously trying to keep the average up didn’t help,” Song said. “And I tend to hit well whenever I just go into the box and swing with confidence, without thinking too much. So I am trying to have the same mindset in practice and in life outside the ballpark.”
Song’s excellent season hasn’t been enough to keep the Heroes from spending most of the season in last place. They are only two years removed from playing in the Korean Series, but they have jumped headfirst into the rebuilding move after losing Lee Jung-hoo, the former league MVP and one of the best hitters in KBO history, last offseason.
Song, who was named captain in June, said he wants his young teammates to keep learning lessons from an otherwise trying season.
Song Sung-mun of the Kiwoom Heroes rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the KT Wiz during a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on July 16, 2024, in this photo provided by the Heroes. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
“We may be in last place now, but I hope we will become stronger and stronger as the season goes on,” he said. “I don’t want us to lose without putting up a fight. Some guys have shown potential, but potential can only get you so far. That has to translate to concrete numbers at some point.”
The one constant message Song tries to impart to his teammates is to be fearless.
“I think younger guys may get down on themselves after making mistakes,” Song said. “But I tell them not to be afraid to fail and to have more confidence in themselves.”
Heroes manager Hong Won-ki has said a few times this season that he believes Song has changed for the better — more mentally than physically — since he tied the knot with his high school sweetheart, Cho Hye-rim, last December.
Song said his wife has indeed played a major role in his career turnaround.
“She doesn’t know that much about baseball. But after I have a bad game, I always feel better when I spend time with her,” Song said. “We eat together or watch something fun on TV. It takes my mind off baseball. If I am alone, I’d think about baseball constantly.”
Cho has a full-time job as a bank teller, and with Song mostly playing in the evening, their working hours don’t overlap. On a typical day during the season, they only have a precious few hours together. Song doesn’t mind that arrangement, though.
“I think it’s better for us to focus on our careers and do what we love while we’re young,” he said. “Honestly, we can spend a lot of time together when we are older.”
Song lives about a 30-minute drive from Gocheok Sky Dome. He said his wife waits up for him after every home game, even though he doesn’t usually get home until well past 11 p.m. and she has to go to work early the next morning.
“She always prepares late dinners for me and sits with me when I eat. I am always so thankful because it’s not easy to do that,” Song said. “She is very supportive. That’s just one more reason why I have to play well.”
(Yonhap)
