LG Twins starter Song Seung-ki returns to the dugout after completing the top of the fifth inning of a Korea Baseball Organization regular-season game against the Doosan Bears at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, in this file photo from June 22, 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, July 10 (Korea Bizwire) – LG Twins starter Song Seung-ki may not win the MVP award in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) this year but in the heart of his manager Youm Kyoung-youb, the rookie left-hander has been as valuable as they come.
“He has exceeded our expectations. He’s a big reason why we are where we are in the standings,” Youm told reporters Thursday before hosting the Kiwoom Heroes in their last game before the All-Star break at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul.
Song, who will start Thursday, has an 8-5 record with a 3.25 ERA in 16 starts. Song made his KBO debut in 2022 and also pitched briefly in 2023, but is still eligible for the Rookie of the Year award this year because he only accumulated 9 1/3 innings in those two seasons combined.
Song, 23, is tied for the team lead in wins with veteran starter Im Chan-kyu and ranks second behind Im in ERA.
Youm noted that the two homegrown starters’ strong performances have compensated for inconsistency from the team’s two foreign pitchers, Yonny Chirinos and Elieser Hernandez.
The Twins went into Thursday’s game in second place with a 48-37-2 record (wins-losses-ties), 3 1/2 games back of the Hanwha Eagles. Youm said considering the start the Twins had — they won the first seven games of the season and sat 20-7-0 at one point — he is “disappointed” with his team’s current position.
“We’ve been able to hang tough because of what we did over the first 20 or so days of the season,” Youm said. “Fortunately, we’ve been able to keep our losing streaks relatively short. Our offense has been in a rut for the past month and a half, but hopefully, we will start hitting better once the second half begins.”
Youm said the Twins have managed to stay near the top of the standings without overtaxing pitchers — starters and relievers alike — and this could help his team down the road.
“We didn’t go all-in with our pitchers in the first half,” he said. “The key for us in the second half is to have everyone do what they’re supposed to do.”
(Yonhap)
