Lotte got out of a 4-game losing streak after hard work. Lotte was able to smile widely after a long time, winning the match against NC held at Sajik Stadium on the 2nd, 6-3. As expected, it was a close game, so the player who decorated the end of the game was Kim Won-joong (30), the finishing pitcher.
Kim Won-joong climbed the mound in the top of the 9th inning and caught lead batter Kwon Hee-dong with a ground ball out to third baseman after two pitches, and although he got a right-handed hit from Park Gun-woo, he threw a 149 km fastball to Jason Martin and struck out on a swing. He ended the game with a strikeout while inducing a swing.안전놀이터
Kim Won-joong, who achieved his 18th save of the season, wrote a new history for Lotte by marking his 95th save in his personal career. That is the new record for the most saves in Lotte’s personal career. Previously, Son Seung-rak’s 94 saves at Lotte was the highest, but Kim Won-joong surpassed it. Son Seung-rak is one of the league’s leading finishers with 271 saves in his career, and he won 94 saves while playing for Lotte from 2016 to 2019.
Kim Won-jung, who decorated a page in Lotte’s history, said, “I didn’t know until the game started and ended. I’m deeply moved.” .
Kim Won-joong has taken over Son Seung-rak’s baton and is active as Lotte’s finishing pitcher. He must have felt a strange feeling since he had surpassed the record set by Son Seung-rak. “It’s an honor just to be compared to a really great senior, and I think I feel more through this record that I will become a player who can keep winning more steadily in the future,” said Kim Won-joong.
Now, if Kim Won-joong adds 5 saves, he will reach the milestone of 100 saves for the first time as a Lotte pitcher. Lotte still has 56 games left. It seems that he will be the main character of the big record enough within this season. Recently, as Seung-min Koo became the protagonist of Lotte’s first career 100 hold, he was hit by a ‘water storm’ from his teammates. Kim Won-jung also laughed, saying, “I wasn’t expecting it, but wouldn’t it be cool if I got hit with water once?”
When Kim Won-joong joined Lotte in 2012, few would have predicted that he would become Lotte’s representative closer. He also turned to a closer in earnest from 2020, so his 95 saves have a special meaning. “Honestly, I didn’t even know I would come to this place,” Kim Won-joong said, “It seems too arrogant to say that I want to make a few saves in the future. I will do my best to build up each one.”