Son Seong-bin (20), the Lotte Giants’ next-generation catcher, has been playing well.
He started at No. 8 catcher against LG at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 9th, going 1-for-3 with one hit, one walk, and two runs scored.
Son made his professional debut with Lotte in the first round of the 2021 KBO Draft. He was awarded the Imansoo Catcher Award, given to the best catching prospect in 2020, and after a brief but impressive stint with the first team in 2021, playing 20 games and batting .316, he was called up to the Commerce.
He spent two years honing his skills in the Futures League. Last year, he hit .285 with 39 doubles, one home run, 31 RBI and an OPS of 0.831 in 690 games. This year, he batted .330 with 29 doubles, one home run, 24 RBIs, 15 runs scored, and an OPS of .882 in 29 games before being called up. He joined the first team right away and is slowly gaining experience.
While he has made significant progress in the minors, he is highly regarded in the first team for his defence. His short pop timing with strong shoulders stood out.
He sniped Guillermo Heredia with a laser throw against SSG on the 16th of last month and caught Moon Sung-joo at LG Electronics on the 25th.
Today was no different, as LG, who play running baseball, refrained from stealing bases when Son wore a catcher’s mask.
Nevertheless, Son’s strong shoulders shone through. The fifth inning was the highlight. With runners on first and second with no outs and a 6-2 lead, Oh Ji-hwan hit a single, and an error by the shortstop allowed another run to score.
The bases were still loaded. With Moon Bo-kyung at bat, Son Sung-bin was hit by a pitch and quickly stole second base. Oh Ji-hwan, who had taken the lead at second base, was surprised and came home, but Son’s throw was faster. His fastball reached 135.4 kilometres per hour and had a pop time of 1.87 seconds. The top pitchers in the major leagues have pop times in the low 1.8s.
Commentator Lee Dae-hyung said, “It looks like lightning struck. You can’t see the arm swing. It was a tremendous pitch. I can only say that it’s amazing.” He was impressed.
Son Sung-bin stopped LG’s run and Lotte was able to hold on to the lead.
It didn’t end there. With the score 7-4, the bases were loaded. Son Sung-bin struck out another runner as Shin Min-jae batted. Shin struck out and caught Moon Bo-kyung at second base. Son received a warm welcome from his teammates in the dugout.
The offence was just as good. In his first at-bat with one out in the second inning, he hit a double off LG starter Lee Jung-yong that went straight to the fence. In his second at-bat in the third inning, he hit a big shot, but it was only a fly ball to centre field.토스카지노
In the top of the sixth, he drew a walk to complete his multi-hit game. In his final at-bat in the eighth inning, he faced Ko Woo-seok, who flied out to centre field.
After the game, head coach Larry Sutton applauded the team’s defence, saying, “Our catcher, Sung-bin Son, did a great job in particular, throwing out opposing runners with strong, accurate throws at crucial times to keep the momentum in their favour, and our offence, turning strong pitches into hits.”
Son Sung-bin said, “I knew that if we lost today, we would drop from the top five. I was conscious of it. I thought to myself that I would be upset if I went out and lost. So I wanted to win,” he said.
“It wasn’t a plan, Coach Choi Kyung-chul told me beforehand. He told me to be ready to throw to second if he didn’t bunt. I was ready, so I was able to make the throw.”
He continues to maintain a 100 per cent stolen base rate. “I don’t think about it. The secret is to work out with Coach Choi Kyung-cheol before the game,” he laughed, then added, “There is no such thing as 100% success in baseball, there are failures. I try to do my best every moment as much as possible, and I think that’s why I’ve been able to achieve good results.”