Home > Sports > Baseball

LG Twins' Hernandez ready to throw himself into Series chase

Published: 19 Feb. 2025, 15:40 Updated: 19 Feb. 2025, 17:50

LG Twins pitcher Elieser Hernandez [LG TWINS]

LG Twins pitcher Elieser Hernandez is looking forward to his first full season with the team, with his eyes set on the coveted Korean Series trophy.

Hernandez is heading into the 2025 KBO season after joining the Twins in the second half of last season, during which he contributed the team's second-round playoff push, where they lost to eventual Korean Series runners-up Samsung Lions.

Hernandez, 29, imposed his presence in the postseason in the absence of veteran pitcher Casey Kelly, who left the Twins in July last year after his six-year stint with the club.

The Venezuelan pitcher appeared in all five games of the first round of the playoffs against the KT Wiz, recording one hold and two saves with a 0.00 ERA. He consistently took the mound in the critical middle-to-late innings of each game and shut down the KT lineup.

In the third game of the second playoff round against the Lions, he pitched three and two-thirds innings, allowing just two hits and no runs to set the stage for a 1-0 victory.

He said during an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily, on the sidelines of the Twins’ training in Arizona earlier this month that he pitched with the mindset that he has to stay strong in order for the Twins to secure a win.

LG Twins pitcher Elieser Hernandez [LG TWINS]

Hernandez added that he will be able to play from the beginning of the season this year, unlike last year, and will prepare the best he can to lead the Twins to the Korean Series — the culmination of the postseason, where the regular season winners face an opponent that progressed through the playoffs.

The pitcher showcases strength that allows him to pitch 150 kilometers (93 miles) per hour and strikeouts.

The Twins had no doubt over his performance in the KBO when the club signed him last year, although they worried about him adjusting life in Korea.

Multiple foreign pitchers have previously struggled to adapt to the Korean culture and food, but none of those mattered to Hernandez, as he said during the interview that everything about his life in Korea is satisfying and he was able to adjust quickly thanks to his teammates, who looked after him meticulously.

Winning the Korean Series this year would mean reclaiming the title that the Twins secured in the 2023 season, when they swept both the league and Korean Series titles for the first time in 29 years.

He said that the obvious goal this season is winning the Korean Series title, and it was a shame that the Twins failed to do so last year despite making it all the way to the second round of the playoffs — the penultimate stage of the postseason.

He added that he will capitalize on his abilities “100 percent” to bring Twins fans the Korean Series title.

The Twins will start their 2025 season action with a game against the Lotte Giants at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul on March 22.

BY KO BONG-JUN [[email protected]]