One of the secrets of good pitching announced by Son Joo-young (27, LG Twins) after the match against Incheon SSG Landers on the 23rd is "folk ball."메이저놀이터

Son, who started the game on the day, allowed two hits and one run during seven innings to secure his fifth win (three losses) of this season. What attracts attention is strikeouts. He has struck out 11 strikeouts (previously a maximum of nine) in a single game against 24 hitters. "I've changed too much (since I took the mound). I was behind schedule due to the weather, but I think I've managed my condition well this time because of the good weather," Son told reporters after the game. He showed poor performance of seven hits and four runs during 4 2/3 innings at the match against KT Wiz in Jamsil on the 17th, the previous day, but changed 180 degrees in just six days. What is the driving force behind the change.

"I had a meeting with (Yum Kyung-yeop) and talked a lot with (Kim Kwang-sam), the pitching coach," Son said. "The coach said he has good fastball pitching and good curves and sliders, but he seems to be having a hard time not throwing folk balls. That's why I decided to throw folk balls again." The key to the rebound was diversification of pitches, and the key was 'severely sealed' folk balls.

Coincidentally, veteran folk baller Kim Jin-sung is affiliated with LG. "I learned a lot from Jin-sung. I copied Jin-sung everything from his grip to his feeling," Son said. "He kept watching me for a week. Even when I was at the hotel, I kept talking to him, and he said, "Let's use more highs and lows." He said, "I'm tall (1m 91 centimeters) and have good RBI (release point), but if I have a curveball and forkball, I think I'll get a good result." In the match against SSG, Son pitched 99 pitches. Forkballs were less than 10, which was not very important. Most strikeouts are fastballs and curves. "I feel like other pitches are better because they let batters realize that there are forkballs again," Son said, expressing satisfaction.

An impressive scene was the second pitch of Ahn's at-bat in the bottom of the seventh inning. He threw a fork ball for the second time after his first fastball strike, and Ahn swung and missed. "Ahn tried to bunt but the fork ball went in for a strike," Son said. "I asked him to throw low in the strike zone (because catcher Park Dong-won's movement is so good), but he lost a lot of weight in the beginning. It's been such a long time since I threw it, but I got the feeling again," Son said.

Son's change lies in his pitching posture. He had difficulty in lifting the ball high because his arm couldn't keep up with him despite tightness in his body. To correct this, he did not do wide-ups and started pitching in set movements. "When I was wide-up, I felt my upper body and head were shaking. I got better when I was in set position and my ball control was good, so I immediately changed it in conversation with my pitching coach Kim Kwang-sam," Son said. "As I was practicing forkball with Jin Sung, my arm angle went up a bit. I want to do something better."

Son is the future of LG's mound. A former promising player who was picked as the second runner of the second round of the 2017 rookie draft, Son has been making his mark since last year. "I want to throw as many as six or seven innings in every game," Son said.