Among KBO League pitchers this season, the player who appeared in the most games is LG pitcher Kim Jin-seong (38). Kim Jin-seong, who is ranked among the top five oldest pitchers, ranks first with the most appearances, beating out younger pitchers. He even pitched three days in a row last weekend. It was his second three-game series of the season.
On the 15th, Kim Jin-seong appeared on the mound in the 6th inning, following starter Kim Yun-sik, against Hanwha in Daejeon with a 4-3 lead. It ended in a three-way strike with Choi In-ho striking out on a missed swing, Choi Jae-hoon hitting a ground ball to shortstop, and Williams striking out on a missing swing.
Before the attack in the top of the 7th inning, the rain became heavier and the game was halted due to rain, and the game ended in a rain call in the 7th inning. Jinseong Kim recorded his first save of the season.
In the game against SSG on the 16th, Kim Jin-seong took the mound in the 6th inning when the score was tied 3-3 with one out and runners on first and second base. Kim Jin-seong’s first pitch forkball was hit by Park Seong-han with his back slightly off, resulting in a right-handed hit. He allowed a 3-4 comeback. He blocked the game with 1 out, runners on 1st and 3rd base, a ground ball to first base and a fly ball to left field without allowing any additional runs.
LG scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, turning the game around 7-4 and winning 10-4. Kim Jin-seong scored a lucky relief win.
Kim Jin-seong also appeared on the mound in the first game of the double header against SSG on the 17th. It was a 3-game series. Kim Jin-seong, who was on the mound in the 8th inning with a 5-3 lead, hit Han Yu-seom and walked Joo-hwan Choi to reach 1st and 2nd base with no outs, and Seong-hyun Kim’s sacrifice bunt put them on 2nd and 3rd base with one out.
The LG bench brought in closer Go Woo-seok one beat early. Go Woo-seok averted the crisis with a strikeout and a fly ball. LG’s batting line scored 3 runs in the 8th inning to go 8-3 and win.
Kim Jin-seong had 3 consecutive fights in the NC 3-game series on August 25th and 26th. He appeared in three consecutive games, pitching one inning each. This was his second 3-game series. One member of the winning team, Ham Deok-ju, is out with a minor injury, and the bullpen as a whole is a little tired, so the burden on veteran Kim Jin-seong has increased.
Kim Jin-seong appeared in 68 games this season and has 4 wins, 1 loss, 1 save, 17 holds, and an ERA of 2.26. Hold tied for 5th place. 68 games is the most appearances in the league, and second-year pro KT Park Young-hyun (20) and Hanwha Kim Beom-soo (28) are tied for second with 65 games.
Kim Jin-seong is one game away from reaching the most games played in a season (69 games), which he recorded during his NC days. He pitched 59⅔ innings, ranking first among bullpen pitchers on the LG team. Although he plays many games and many innings, he is performing his duties well with his fastball and forkball as his main weapon. He’s throwing more than last year.안전놀이터
Kim Jin-seong, who has a lot of experience, is strong against left-handed batters, so he mainly faces the left-handed batting line. Manager Yeom Kyeong-yeop said, “Rather than using left-handed pitchers against left-handed batters, we use pitchers who are strong against left-handed batters. “Kim Jin-seong is the best at dealing with left-handed hitters on our team,” he said.
Each team has a lot of left-handed hitters in the center of the batting lineup, and there are many threatening left-handed hitters. This is another value of Kim Jin-seong. Also, Coach Yeom attaches the most importance to the second pitcher following the starting pitcher, and recently, there have been many games in which Kim Jin-seong appears as the second pitcher.
Kim Jin-seong, who was released three times after joining the pros, wore the LG uniform last year and is having a career-high season this year.
Kim Jin-seong joined SK in 2004, and he played only in the second team before being released in 2006. After completing his military service, he joined Nexen as a training player in 2010 through an entrance test.
He took a new opportunity by participating in a tryout for the new team NC in 2011. He finally made his first-team debut in 2013, and in 2014, he took over as NC’s closer and made 25 saves.
Kim Jin-seong, who later played as a setup man, contributed to NC’s first win in 2020. He pitched in all games of the Korean Series (6 games) and performed very well, recording an ERA of 0 with 3 holds. However, he performed poorly in 2021 with an earned run average in the 7-point range, and was released from NC for the third time after the season.
Kim Jin-seong called each of the officials of the nine clubs and asked for an opportunity to try out for them. LG general manager Cha Myeong-seok reached out and let me wear the LG uniform. He appeared in 67 games (58 innings) last year and recorded 6 wins, 3 losses, 12 holds, and an ERA of 3.10.
Kim Jin-seong, who qualified as a free agent after the season, signed a two-year contract with LG for a total of 700 million won (down payment of 300 million won, annual salary of 200 million won). He is performing far beyond his contract amount.