LG Twins starting pitcher Lim Chan-kyu is a baseball player. He always studies and researches. He has homework that he has yet to solve. "I hope my slider gets a little better this year," Lim said at the Okinawa spring camp in Japan.메이저사이트

Until now, Lim had mainly used fastballs, changeups and curves. He had been testing sliders from time to time for about five to six years, but he was not satisfied. Last year, LG manager Yeom Kyung-yeop asked Lim to increase the weight of sliders. Lim tried to create his own slider by incorporating a method in which Elijah Hernandez throws a sweeper into the grip his teammate Detrick N.C. There were some days when his team worked well, but overall the slider was not perfect. 

We can't give up. We can't give up. We used sliders in this year's spring camp practice game. "I tried to use a different combination of balls than during the regular season to practice pitching," Lim said. "I tried to throw the slider lower, but it formed in the strike zone. Still, the ball got stuck at the end of the bat, and I think the ball's movement itself was good. Catcher (Park) Dong-won also said it was okay. I think it will be better if I know how to put the ball in the course I want."

"Sliders fall sideways and horizontally, but I don't know how much of the average speed will come out," Lim Chan-kyu said. "I have to find out while throwing," adding, "I am also thinking about when to use it. I tried to use it a lot on the left-handed batter's body, but if I mix it with a curve, I think it will be okay to throw a high slider to the right-handed batter."

Why do you want to install the slider? "It is good to induce the ball to hit the ground ball, and there is also a reason to make the ball hit the end of the bat," Lim said. "If the slider is formed on a high course, it is also possible to drop the curve from there. It is good in that it can create multiple pitch tunnels."

There is also a risk. If a high slider makes a mistake, it will lead to a homerun. "Actually, all balls are like that," Lim said calmly. "I haven't been able to use sliders because they are not very valuable to me. I used to use curves and change-ups for slider timing. I will practice more by gradually increasing the frequency of sliders (in trial games)." 

This year's goal is to continue. "I've been investing my time in sliders for a very long time. Still, it's difficult," Lim said. "After all, I hope my slider gets a little better because I'm trying to add more pitches to catch a better hitter. I think that'll be enough."

Lim Chan-kyu, who debuted as a pro in the LG Twins uniform in 2011, recorded double-digit wins for the first time in two consecutive years between 2023 and 2024. In 2023, he recorded a career-high with 14 wins, 3 losses and 1 hold in 144 ⅔ innings in 30 games. Last year, he pitched in 134 innings in 25 games, 10-6 losses and 1 hold, with an ERA of 3.83.

In particular, he shone all the more during the postseason. He won the MVP of the semi-playoff series. He displayed impressive performance in two games, 11 ⅓ and innings, with two wins and an ERA of 1.59. In the playoffs, he was on the brink of losing two games overall in the series, and started the third game as a starter, bringing his team a win. He showed no run in five ⅓ innings.