The exhibition game home run king has finally burst through. After 898 days, he tasted a home run.

On the 23rd, LG Twins' Song Chan-eui started as the sixth left fielder in a game against the Lotte Giants at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul.

Song Chan-eui was a designated hitter in the previous day's opening game against Lotte's left-handed starter, Barnes, where he recorded three hits. This was his first hit in an opening game and set a personal record for most hits in a single game. On that day, Lotte's starting pitcher was right-handed Park Se-woong, but manager Yeom Kyung-yeop gave continued opportunities to right-handed batter Song Chan-eui instead of left-handed batter Moon Seong-joo.

Before the game, manager Yeom commented on Song Chan-eui's start, saying, "Yesterday's contributions from starter Chiri-nos and Song Chan-eui were fruitful. Song Chan-eui should play around 70 games as a backup."

In his first two at-bats of the game, Song Chan-eui got out with a fly out to the outfield and a pop-up to the infield. In the sixth inning, with one out, in his third at-bat against reliever Park Jin, he hit a slider (127.7 km/h) on the third pitch after a 1 ball-1 strike count, launching a solo home run over the left field fence. It was a home run that burst after 898 days. His last home run was on Oct. 7, 2022, against NC. The ball had a speed of 172 km/h and traveled a distance of 119.5 meters.

After the game, Song Chan-eui remarked on his home run at-bat, saying, "I was trying to fit my swing to the situation where breaking balls were consistently coming in. Thankfully, it connected well, resulting in a good outcome."

It was a regular season home run that came after three long years. When asked about the feeling as it went over, Song Chan-eui said, "The first thing I heard was the cheers of the fans. Then I felt a bit of shivers, and it seemed like I joyfully rounded the bases."

Given the size of Jamsil Stadium, it might have crossed at that moment. Song Chan-eui said, "Initially, I thought I hit it well, but after seeing the left fielder hesitate a bit, I thought, oh, it must have gone over at that point."

He has gone through a lot of training during last year's finishing camp and this year's spring camp, and he showed good results during exhibition games. Manager Yeom expects Song Chan-eui to grow to a new level this year.

Song Chan-eui said, "The manager always emphasizes precision and also direction. After getting a lot of home runs in the exhibition games, my swing tendency has widened a bit, and I’ve also tended to open up too quickly. This winter, the areas the manager ordered, and the help from hitting coaches Mo Chang-min and Kim Jae-yul helped me try to improve those aspects. Firstly, in order to hit strong balls, it is important to make precise contact, and to hit home runs, those strong balls must be hit. So, I am thinking more about precision and direction."

Drafted 67th overall in the 7th round of the 2017 draft, Song Chan-eui became a member of LG. He became the home run king in 2022 exhibition games with six home runs. However, he could not continue his performance through to the regular season. In 2022, he played 33 games in the first team, recording a batting average of .236 (17 hits in 72 at-bats), with three home runs and 10 RBIs. Opportunities to play in the first team over the past two years have been few and far between. In 2023, he had one hit in 18 at-bats over 19 games, and in 2024 he had one hit in 15 at-bats over 10 games.

In the opening game on the 22nd, in his first at-bat, with one out and runners on first base, he faced Barnes and struck out looking on a full count changeup. In the third inning, with no outs and runners on first and second, he advanced the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt.

In the fourth inning, up 7-2 with two outs and a runner on second, in his third at-bat, Song Chan-eui hit the first pitch slider of the changed pitcher Kim Kang-hyun for a double down the left field line, bringing in one run. Then, in the sixth with two outs, he struck a clean single against left-handed pitcher Song Jae-young. And in the eighth inning, he hit a right-field single off Kim Sang-su, exploding for a total of three hits.

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