Toshiyaki Imae, a former MVP of the Japan Series and hitting instructor for the Samsung Lions, will join the team on the 9th.

Imae, who served as a special instructor in the second camp in Okinawa, Japan, in February and guided the batters, will help strengthen the batting lineup starting with the LG Twins game in Daegu alongside hitting coaches Lee Jin-young and Bae Young-seob.

In order to help improve the accuracy of the batters through differentiated programs, he will focus on managing key players ahead of the first team's home games. He will also develop the future team batters at Gyeongsan Bollpark during the first team's away schedule.

Imae noted through his social media, "After serving as a special instructor at the Samsung Lions' second camp in Okinawa in February, I will take on the role of hitting instructor from May to September," adding, "I will work hard with the future players who will lead Samsung's future, as well as those in the first team."

Imae, who played for the Chiba Lotte Marines and Rakuten in Japanese professional baseball, appeared in a total of 1,704 games in the first team, recording a career batting average of .283, 1,682 hits, 108 home runs, 726 RBIs, 642 runs, and 32 stolen bases.

He contributed to the team's championship as a member of the Japan national team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) and received the Japan Series MVP award in 2005 and 2010.

Since 2020, he has been working as a coach at Rakuten for five years. From May 2023, he served as the hitting coach for the Rakuten first team and was the manager last year. Imae is expected to focus on improving Samsung's offensive power.

Meanwhile, Samsung, which has fallen into a five-game losing streak since the game against the Doosan Bears on the 3rd, will start foreign pitcher Ariel Hurado against LG on the 9th. Hurado, who played as the foreign ace for the Kiwoom Heroes until last year, transferred to Samsung this season.

He has achieved quality starts in all eight games this season, and although he has just two wins and three losses, he has shown his prowess as the ace with a 2.21 earned run average.

LG's starting pitcher is left-hander Son Joo-young. He completed a career-high last year with a record of nine wins, ten losses, and one hold in 28 games, along with an earned run average of 3.79. This season, he has taken the mound seven times, recording three wins and two losses with an earned run average of 4.15.

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