who is firmly blocking the back door of the SSG Landers
made his first blown save (failed save) of the season against the Doosan Bears in Jamsil on the 27th.
Seo Jin-yong, who took the mound in the ninth inning with a 5-4 lead, sent runners to both corners with two hits and gave up a sacrifice fly to Jose Rojas, failing to keep the lead for the first time in his 51st appearance and 35th save in the regular season.
In the top of the 10th, SSG scored 3 points and took an 8-5 lead, and at the end of the 10th, he kept the mound and blocked Doosan’s lineup without any additional runs, leading the team to an 8-5 victory and winning their embarrassing 3rd win of the season. 온라인섯다
Since his debut, he has been mainly active as a bullpen setup man, and since last year he has moved to a closer position.
On the 9th, with his save against Changwon NC Dinos, he conquered the ‘no blown save 30 save’ for the first time in the KBO league, and after that, he recorded 34 saves by keeping the team victorious four more times.
Although he experienced a setback against Doosan on the 27th, he still shows outstanding results with 3 wins, 2 losses, 34 saves, and an average ERA of 1.52.
If there are no variables, it is likely that he will become the first salvation king in his life, as he has 10 more team victories than Kim Jae-yoon (kt wiz, 24), who is second in league saves.
In fact, Seo Jin-yong had a premonition that his “Blonsave Zero (0)” march would end someday.
In an interview with Yonhap News ahead of the game on the 27th, he asserted, “Even a really good closer can’t not make a blown save. Even if I’m still throwing well, it’s a record that will be broken someday.”
As Seo Jin-yong said, a blown save is like fate for a closer.
In 2011, Oh Seung-hwan (Samsung Lions), who tied the record for the most saves in a single season in the KBO League with 47 saves, also left a blown save.
All closers grow through failure.
The same goes for Seo Jin-yong.
He made four blown saves while making 21 saves last season. His save success rate was 84%.
Seo Jin-yong said, “I think I grew up by seeing a lot of hits and failing a lot. Even when I was pushed into a crisis, I went in stronger because I thought, ‘I’ve been hit and failed a lot anyway, but there’s no place to retreat from here.'”
Now, if Seo Jin-yong keeps his team victorious two more times, he will stand shoulder to shoulder with 36 saves, the most ever in a single season, set by Ha Jae-hoon in 2019.
Ha Jae-hoon, who has now turned to a hitter because of an injury, asked Seo Jin-yong, “I will set more records as a hitter, so please break my save record” in an interview with reporters after the game against Doosan in Jamsil on the 26th.
Seo Jin-yong said, “I will break Jae-hoon’s record.” I think it means you’ll be happy,” he said.
In the history of the KBO League, 40 saves in a single season is a record only eight times.
Among them, Oh Seung-hwan alone achieved it four times, Son Seung-rak (former Lotte Giants), Ko Woo-seok (LG Twins), Jeong Myeong-won (former Hyundai Unicorns), and Jin Pil-joong (former LG Twins) each achieved it once.
Seo Jin-yong said, “If I make 30 saves, I will tell you my goal for the season. I have passed 30 before I know it, so I want to challenge 40 now.” He expressed his high ambition.