“I’m in a position where I have to concentrate on one at-bat.”
Left-handed hitter Junghoon Lee (30) is the most reliable substitute. Junghoon Lee came out as a substitute in the bottom of the seventh inning in a 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League game against KT held at Sajik Stadium in Busan on Sunday.
Lotte trailed 1-4 until the top of the seventh inning and succeeded in balancing 4-4 with Jeon Joon-woo, Jung Hoon and Na Seung-yeop hitting a timely hit in succession in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Lotte was not satisfied here. As chances continued with runners on the first and third bases with no outs, Lotte took out the pinch-hitter card. It put in a pinch-hitter Junghoon Lee to Information Keun’s at-bat. Junghoon Lee faced KT’s setup man Kim Min, and hit a fastball with a depth of 147 kilometers per hour that came into the second pitch after picking out the first ball. The hit led to a timely hit to the right field, and as third baseman Shin Yoon-hoo scored, Lotte was able to come from behind to win 5-4. Lotte added two more runs, and won 7-5 to narrow the gap with fifth-ranked KT to two games later. Junghoon Lee’s come-from-behind hit was recorded as the final hit of the game.
It was intentional for Junghoon Lee to send a hit between the first and second bases. And he hit the bull’s eye. “I prepared as if I needed to score a point in the second half of the game, thinking that I would go out as a substitute,” Junghoon Lee said. “When I entered the batter’s box in the bottom of the seventh inning, there was a gap between the first and second bases. Considering that the opposing pitcher is a good pitcher with a fastball, I tried to send a hit between the first and second bases by aggressively hitting points in front of him.”
When Junghoon Lee was playing in the Futures League, he had advice from Futures batting coach Lee Byung-kyu and Futures batting assistant coach Lee Sung-gon. “When I was playing in the Futures League, Lee Byung-kyu and Lee Sung-gon gave me feedback that my points were too far behind me. That’s why I practiced a lot to proactively hit and put points in front of me,” Junghoon Lee said. “I checked my mindset to go to the batter’s box without paying attention to records and results. This process seems to have resulted in me,” Junghoon Lee added.
Junghoon Lee, who started his professional career in KIA in 2017, played in 41 games in 2021 with a batting average of .248 with two home runs and 14 RBIs, but only had a batting average of .000 (no hits in 8 times at bat) in 6 games in 2022 and was eventually announced to be released. Junghoon Lee, who continued his career with Lotte last year, played in 59 games with a batting average of .296 with one home run and 17 RBIs, and boasts a high sense of hitting with a batting average of .321 and 18 RBIs in 47 games this year. 토토사이트
As a pinch hitter, he already has a chance to enter the 30th at-bat. Junghoon Lee has a .304 (7 hits in 23 times at bat) as a pinch hitter this season, and has displayed concentration in picking six pitches. One can see Junghoon Lee’s desperation in his words, “I’m in a position to concentrate on one hit.”
In fact, Junghoon Lee is as good as any other key player in terms of hitting ability. Lotte tried hard to make the most of Junghoon Lee’s bat widely enough to have Junghoon Lee practice catcher. Although Junghoon Lee’s original position was catcher, he often served as a designated hitter or outfielder after moving to Lotte.
Although Junghoon Lee’s return to catcher was canceled, the team is still second to none as the best substitute. As Lotte has to devote all of its efforts to advance to the top five in the remaining 21 games, its operation like that of a short-term game is essential. “This is not a time to think that it is a pennant race. We should consider it a short-term game,” Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung said, adding that the team will move faster than usual in its campaign. As a result, Junghoon Lee’s role as the substitute at a critical moment has become more important than ever. If Junghoon Lee, which pinch-hit KT, continues this performance, Lotte’s fall baseball will also have a bigger chance.