LG Twins captain Oh Ji-hwan (33) and pitching coach Lim Chan-kyu (31) are both “elin” (LG+ child fans) who cheered for LG in baseball as children.
It’s easy to see how much they supported LG online.
In 2008, when he was a student at Gyeonggi University, Oh Ji-hwan wrote a post on the then-popular social media site “Whatsapp,” which recently resurfaced.
On May 29, 2008, at 10:27 p.m., he wrote, “Today, Elji lost again. Why is it so low…” and “LG has lost 8 games in a row today. The ranking has also dropped to the bottom. We need to do better,” he wrote with a lot of regret.
“Deep down, LG needs me, right?” he wrote, “I can’t wait to go to the LG Twins!” he said.
Oh joined LG through the rookie draft the following year and has since become a franchise star.
The same goes for Im Chan-kyu. When he was still in elementary school, he visited Jamsil Stadium in Seoul and took a photo in front of the clubhouse with LG’s then-catcher, In-sung Cho, who is now a retained LG coach.
“I really liked LG,” he said, releasing the photo after his professional debut.
The truth is, Oh “Elin” Hwan and Lim Chan-gyu often felt more frustration and sadness than joy as children.
This is because LG went through a long dark period from the mid-2000s.
Even after the two players joined the team, LG didn’t rebound for a long time. It wasn’t until 2013 that LG made it to the Fall Festival for the first time in 11 years.
Oh and Lim have grown into mainstays for LG, and now they’re looking to win their first Korean Series (KS) title in 29 years.
Oh is a favorite for the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the KS after batting .400 with three home runs and eight RBIs in Games 1-4 against the KT Wiz.
Lim Chan-kyu pitched 3⅔ innings of one-run ball in Game 3 of the KS series on Tuesday to set the stage for his team’s victory.
“I’ve been waiting for this day,” both players said ahead of the KS Game 5 at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul on the 13th.
“I’ve been rooting for LG to win since I was a kid,” said Lim, adding, “I have a lot of autographed balls from LG seniors at home.”
“We have one game left,” he said, vowing to “stay relaxed and do our best until the end.”
“In 2002, when I was in elementary school, I met LG players through an acquaintance and became a fan,” said Oh Ji-hwan. “I vividly remember getting an autograph from Wolves senior Lee Sang-hoon.”
“I was really upset at the time,” he laughed, referring to the recent controversial Facebook post, and added, “I will do my best to provide good memories and joy to my juniors and young fans.” 스포츠토토사이트