“My colleagues in LG asked me why I was so good.”
Lotte Giants infielder Son Ho-young (30) started the season’s 13th game against KT Wiz in the 2024 Shinhan SOL Bank KBO League at Suwon KT Wiz Park on the 11th and scored four hits in five at-bats, one RBI and three runs, achieving four hits in his first game.
His bat was fierce from his first at bat. When the score was tying 0-0 with runners on third and one out at the top of the first inning, he met KT’s starting pitcher Ko Young-pyo and hit a timely RBI single to the left field after eight pitches. It was the moment when he hit the finishing hit. Son Ho-young, who moved to the third base when Victor Reyes had a double, hit a two-run double by Jeon Joon-woo, and hit a home run.
In the top of the second inning, Ko Young-pyo’s first pitch with a fly ball to left field, but this was the first and last on-base failure.
Son appeared as a leadoff hitter in the top of the fourth inning with a 6-0 lead, and hit a heavy hit against Ko to achieve multi-hitters. Afterwards, he succeeded in hitting home again with Reyes’ double and Na Seung-yeop’s sacrifice fly to center field.
He also took the lead as a leadoff hitter in the top of the sixth inning when he led 8-2, and this time, he met Sung Jae-hun and opened the door with a recognition double that passed the center fielder’s height. Later, when Na Seung-yeop was hit to the center field, he stepped home through third base to score a wedge. 메이저사이트
Son appeared as a leadoff hitter at the top of the eighth inning with a 9-6 lead, and hit left-handed against Kim to achieve four hits in his first game. It was the moment that he set a new personal record by surpassing three hits in five previous games. All five three-hit games were after his transfer to Lotte.
Son Ho-young, whom I met after the game, said, “No. I thought I didn’t feel good, but I was lucky,” adding, “Today, strangely, I continued to be the leadoff hitter like the first hitter. I went in thinking it was good even if it was bad, and I think I got a good result because practice and games are different.”
Prior to the season, Son moved from the LG Twins to the Lotte Giants, and opened his new baseball career. Having been a backup for many years, Son has established himself as a Lotte Cleanup trio by batting .332, hitting 11 homers, 49 RBIs and OPS.937 in 63 games. He tied for third in the history of this category with 30 consecutive hits in the first half of this season, and was also named an All-Star for the first time in his career.
Son Ho-young devoted himself to recording consecutive hits in consecutive games and struggled on rehabilitation for about a month due to a sore right hamstring. After his comeback on July 20, he briefly learned the atmosphere of the first team with a batting average of 233, one homer and four RBIs for 10 days, and in August, he hit a batting average of 483, (14 hits in 29 at-bats), two homers and eight RBIs, leading Lotte to rebound.
What has changed? Son Ho-young said, “I still keep in good touch with my colleagues when I was in LG. They are asking why I am doing so well these days. I always tell them, ‘It’s time for them to do well, so they are doing well,'” she said with a smile.
“Honestly, if you look at this season, it’s not that bad either. It’s similar. I still feel the need to swing the bat more aggressively,” he said. “Homerun is also something that comes out when you just hit it. It’s not aimed. That’s because I’m not that good of a player. When I hit it exactly, I get a home run,” he said calmly.
With Son Ho-young at the back, Lotte has narrowed its gap versus fifth-ranked SSG Landers to 3.5 games by winning the three consecutive KT games. With 39 games to go until the season, Lotte can surely make its way to the autumn baseball games.
Son Ho-young said, “Brothers always say that baseball is something that they don’t know, so let’s play until the end. That’s why we are trying to win every game. They lead us well, so even if the score difference widens, we don’t give up and play. That’s why I think the atmosphere is good these days.”
Son Ho-young also has a great desire to finish the first season of his transfer well. His goal is to end the season of turning the tables with autumn baseball by steadily gaining opportunities as it is now, so that it will not be a full-fledged season.
Son Ho-young said, “I will continue to play as hard as I do now for the rest of the season. I will play tomorrow and the day after tomorrow at the best of every game. So I will do my best. And I want to play fall baseball this year.”