A 40-year-old pitcher who thought he had retired has returned to active duty. The Samsung Lions started reinforcing the bullpen by recruiting right-hander Song Eun-beom, 40, who was born in 1984.
Samsung announced on the 25th that it has recruited Song Eun-beom for a total of 80 million won with an annual salary of 50 million won and an option of 30 million won for the rest of this year. Song Eun-beom, who has joined the Gyeongsan Ballpark rehabilitation team since mid-May and built himself, passed the team’s final test through ball power checks and live pitching in the middle of this month. The maximum speed is 143km/h.
“He has been an all-weather pitcher in the starting lineup and bullpen for 21 years, and based on his abundant experience, he is expected to give new strength to the bullpen, which has lost physical strength in the second half of the year,” Samsung said. “We thank the club for trusting and giving us a chance. We will communicate with young players and help the team,” Song said.
Samsung coach Park Jin-man, who met with reporters before the Hanwha match in Daejeon was canceled due to rain, said of Song Eun-beom, “I heard that he is in good physical condition, but he still lacks a sense of play or a real game. I heard that the live pitching was in good condition without any problems, but I think the Futures team should improve its sense of play first,” adding, “I will not call him to the first team right away.”
As coach Park Jin-man said, Song has never taken the mound in a real game because he does not have a team to which he belongs. The last game against Lotte Giants (save one inning, 12 pitches, two hits and one strikeout) took place on July 8 last year, when he was a member of LG Twins. Since he has a gap in actual games for more than a year, he should be produced in the Futures League for a while. He will start preparing for a bullpen session starting with a Futures League game against KIA that will take place in Hampyeong on Wednesday.
Song, a Dongsan High School native who joined SK as a first choice in 2003, played for Kia, Hanwha, and LG until last year, and recorded 88 wins, 95 losses, 27 saves, 57 holds, 4.57 strikeouts and 946 ERA in a total of 680 games (194 starts, 1,454 innings) in 21 seasons. He was a key starting pitcher during his time as SK, experiencing three Korean Series championships. After being traded from SK to KIA, he had ups and downs for a long time, but he signed two free agency contracts with Hanwha and LG to be a bullpen pitcher.
However, he injured his cruciate ligament in his right knee during defense at the match against Lotte Giants on Aug. 14, 2021, and underwent surgery to recover his recovery for nearly a year. After returning from injury, he failed to regain his pitching capability, and only played in four games (three ⅔ innings) in the 밤알바 LG Twins’ first team last year. Song, who was released by LG after the season, appeared to be in virtual retirement. He applied for a tryout on the baseball entertainment program “The Greatest Baseball” last winter, which was also widely reported.
It had been forgotten a little since then, but Samsung offered a helping hand. Since mid-May, Samsung has prepared for the test by re-warming up at Gyeongsan Ballpark, and when the bullpen ran out, it led to an official contract. Samsung had at least eight come-from-behind losses in the league through May to implement the winning equation for the bullpen, but it was overloaded little by little and suffered the most come-from-behind losses in the league with 13 come-from-behind losses since June. Veteran pitchers such as closing pitcher Oh Seung-hwan, Kim Jae-yoon, and Lim Chang-min are struggling and are struggling.
Samsung, which had been battling for second place by surpassing its capacity, has been struggling with six wins and nine losses (win rate of .400) since July. As the gap widened to three games with LG, the team that has recently won seven consecutive games, it is urgent to maintain the third place. KT and NC, which are tied for fifth, have also been pressing with a gap of 2.5 games, putting Samsung on alert. 밤알바
New foreign hitter Ruben Kadenas blasted a much-anticipated home run to bring about a successful change in the batting lineup, but the mound side lacks additional capacity. Fireballer Kim Yun-soo, who returned from Sangmu, decided to join the second division due to poor control of his ball after two games. Right-hander Kim Tae-hoon, who left the team due to an abdominal muscle injury, is preparing to return to the team in early August, but the pitcher is Da-ik-seon. It is unclear how much help Song will be, but teams that compete for ranking positions at the top should concentrate their efforts.
Manager Park Jin-man said, “We have strengthened our bullpen a lot since last year. Another experienced player came from that part. Since our bullpen is physically struggling and under pressure right now, I think we should use it depending on the situation (Song Eun-beom’s) condition. I think it will be helpful because he is an experienced player.”
Park was associated with Song when he was a player. After Park moved to SK in 2011, he was with Song for two and a half years before being traded to KIA in May 2013. “We played together for several years when we were with SK. Back then, we are from Incheon where we are from,” Park said, smiling, “I think positively because we are all hardworking players. I hope that he will improve his sense of actual play as soon as possible.”
