Seo Jin-yong of SSG Landers won his first individual title in 13 years since he was nominated as a professional golfer. Seo won the title in the save category at the KBO awards ceremony held at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Sogong-dong, Seoul on Wednesday. Seo, who played as the closing pitcher of SSG this year, garnered 42 saves in 69 games during the regular season, and confidently became the “save king” by beating his rivals. It is his first celebration since his professional debut.
Seo Jin-yong attended the award ceremony as his first title holder, but it was possible thanks to the trust of former coach Kim Won-hyung. Even just before the opening of this season, SSG did not have a fixed closing pitcher. Still, Seo Jin-yong, who has the most experience in the must-win group among bullpen pitchers, was selected as a new closing pitcher and trusted him from the beginning to the end of the season. Under such belief, Seo achieved “career high” after his debut and won the title of “save king.” 슬롯머신
Manager Kim Won-hyung left the team after his contract was terminated at the end of last month after the semi-playoff series. Seo Jin-yong, whom I met at the awards ceremony, said, “I was really surprised to hear that the coach was leaving. I was going to call you right away, but I called you a little later because I thought you must be busy, and you thanked me.”
Seo Jin-yong was a playing coach when he was a rookie, and Kim Won-hyung was a pitching coach for the SK Wyverns and later coached pitchers. Since he has seen Seo since he was a rookie and knows his growth story better than anyone else, he criticized him more and cherished him more. Seo Jin-yong also understands what Kim meant. “That’s the coach’s style. He plays with people he likes more and talks more curtly,” Seo said with a smile.
The big-time promising player, who has always been criticized and never showed off, has grown into a “save king” who proudly receives trophies at award ceremonies wearing a dirty suit. “The only thing I have to say is thank you for letting me finish the game until the very end,” Seo told former coach Kim Won-hyung. “The manager has aged a lot because I gave a lot of walks and sent out a lot of runners in the middle. I wonder how hard it must have been for you to watch,” he joked, “I just thank you so much. Thank you for trusting me to the end even though there were many good pitchers,” and said goodbye.