Kiwoom Heroes outfielder Lee Jung-hoo’s sense of hitting is exploding because he can’t fill it.
Lee Jung-hoo recorded 3 hits (1 home run), 1 RBI, 2 runs and 3 walks in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League LG Twins match held at Gocheok Sky Dome on the 7th. The team ended up with a 5-5 tie after 12 extra innings, but Lee Jung-hoo did his part with a 6-on-base game.스포츠토토
Lee Jung-hoo went to base with an infield hit to the left of the first baseman in the first inning, and in the third inning, where the score was 1-1, he pulled Adam Plutko’s body cutter and hit a solo home run that went over the fence behind the right fielder. In the 6th inning, he completed a 3-hit game with an exquisite double that fell on the right field. Hit for the Cycle, one short of a triple.
In the other three at-bats, there was virtually no hitting opportunity. Lee Jung-hoo showed off his name value by going on base with straight walks in all three at-bats in the 8th, 9th and 12th innings. On this day, 3 hits, 3 walks, a total of 6 on-base is Lee Jung-hoo’s personal record for the most on-base in a game (previous 5 on-base). It fell two short of the 8 on-base (April 9, 2010) set by current Kiwoom Futures coach Kim Tae-wan, who holds the league record for the most on-base in a game.
Even if he fails to set his record, it is a significant enough number for Lee Jung-hoo. Lee Jung-hoo suffered from poor batting at the beginning of this season. In the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March, he had a batting average of 0.429 in four games, so his April performance (0.218), which barely exceeded 20% of the season, was very unfamiliar. Even Lee Jung-hoo tilted his head, saying, “This is the first time I’ve experienced such a long slump.”
Lee Jung-hoo, who did that, gradually revived the sense of hitting with a monthly batting average of 0.305 last month, and is exploding in June. Lee Jeong-hoo is recording a batting average of 0.475 with 19 hits (3 home runs) in 40 at-bats in 10 games from the match against Lotte on the 26th of last month to the match against LG on the 7th. If he hits, almost half of them are hits. He also recovered his season batting average from a low of 0.194 to close to 30% (0.290).
▲ Lee Jeong-hoo ⓒ Kiwoom Heroes
▲ Lee Jeong-hoo ⓒ Kiwoom Heroes
Half of the six homers of the season came in the last 10 games, and he had 7 multi-hits out of 10 games, so all of Lee Jung-hoo’s strengths, such as sophistication and slugging power, have returned. Lee Jung-hoo, who should have been the center of the team’s lineup, was sluggish and even the team was staggering, and Lee Jung-hoo felt guilty, but now he can relieve his burden, albeit a little.
Meanwhile, Lee Jung-hoo is highly likely to board the final entry for the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, which will be announced on the 9th. Lee Jung-hoo promised, “If you go to the Asian Games, you have to accumulate a lot of team wins before leaving your seat,” but the team is still struggling to maintain 8th place. Now, the time has come for Lee Jung