Catcher Lee Jung-hoon (29, Lotte Giants), who is dreaming of becoming a ‘released myth’, showed hope by striking long hits in a row in practice games.
Lotte won an 8-7 come-from-behind victory after a batting battle against the Hanwha Eagles in a 2023 spring camp practice game held at Gushikawa Baseball Stadium in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan on the 2nd. With this victory, Lotte will run 4 consecutive victories in practice games.
On this day, the best player in the Lotte batting line was Lee Jung-hoon. In defense in the beginning of the 3rd inning, Lee Jung-hoon, who wore a mask in place of free agent (free agent) catcher Yoo Gang-nam, showed a regretful appearance by making two wild throws with pitcher Yoon Seong-bin (24).
But hitting was different. Lee Jung-hoon, who entered his first at-bat at the end of the 5th inning, hit a double from the right against Hanwha’s third pitcher, Lee Tae-yang. He scored a goal by stepping on the home plate when Hwang Seong-bin, who entered the 10th batting order, made a left-handed hit.
Lee Jung-hoon’s bat did not cool down here. At the end of the 6th inning, when the team trailed 3-5, he met Lee Tae-yang again with 2 out on 1st base and exploded a double that exceeded the height of the center fielder, bringing the runner on 1st base home. After advancing to third base due to a check error, he succeeded in scoring with Kim Min-soo’s timely hit, making the score 5-5.
In the end, Lee Jung-hoon also scored the final goal for the team. After allowing a 5-6 turnaround with 2 runs in the beginning of the 8th inning, he appeared at the end of the 8th inning with 1 out and 3rd base, and tied the game by scoring the 3rd double of the game splitting right and middle. He added another goal as he returned home with Lee Hak-joo’s final stroke.
On this day, Lee Jung-hoon recorded 3 hits in 3 at-bats (3 doubles), 2 RBIs and 3 runs, and played a perfect role. Lee Jung-hoon contributed to the team’s victory along with Lee Hak-joo, who made a multi-hit and final hit that day.
After the game, Lee Jung-hoon said, “In defense, I paid a lot of attention to the pitcher’s lead.”
Lee Jung-hoon, who joined the KIA Tigers in 2017, was evaluated as having outstanding talent in hitting. Until last year, he played 375 games in the Futures League, and achieved outstanding results with a batting average of 0.320, 30 homers, 198 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.895. In the first team, in the opportunity gained by Choi Hyeong-woo’s injury in 2021, he made a mark by showing a record of 0.364 batting average, 2 home runs, 10 RBIs, and an OPS of 0.984 in May.
Defensively, however, he failed to impress. He tried to save the blow while training first baseman in the 2nd team, but in the end, KIA sent Lee Jung-hoon a notice of non-renewal of the contract after the end of last season.안전놀이터
Afterwards, the club that reached out to Lee Jung-hoon was Lotte. Lee Jung-hoon made a new nest with Lotte 10 days after being released. At the time of the recruitment, a Lotte official said, “It is not an exaggeration to say that Lee Jung-hoon is the result of recruiting a free agent catcher.”
Lee Jung-hoon, who is showing a good figure in the spring camp, said, “I want to continue to produce good results in future matches.”