'I gave up 12 runs in my first game after being discharged' Lotte's Son Sung-bin "I was too aggressive in my debut"

 "They say you can't do it right the first time... I think I made too much of my debut."

Lotte Giants next-generation closer Son Seong-bin (21) expressed deep disappointment after his dizzying comeback.

The Lotte Giants' game against the SSG Landers at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on Nov. 16 was Son's first game as a starting catcher since returning from the Armed Forces Athletic Corps. Working with right-handed sidearm Han Hyun-hee (30) for the first time, he suffered a bitter 1-12 defeat.

The next day (July 17), LOTTE manager Larry Sutton said, "We need to have a different perspective. Before the game, the pitchers and catchers make a plan for the day's play. During the game, the bench is there to help with pitch mixes whenever needed. That's why the result on the 16th was more about Han Hyun-hee not throwing the pitches he wanted than it was about Son Sung-bin."

However, he had a different opinion. After hearing Sutton's words, Son was grateful and said, "Is that what you said?" but also said, "When the game is like that, the catcher's responsibility is big. (Han) Hyun-hee's ball was good, but the SSG batters also hit really well," he said.

There were some bright spots in the loss. One of them was in the bottom of the third inning, when Lotte was down 0-2 with runners on first and third. First baseman Guillermo Heredia attempted to steal second base against the Son-Seong-bin-Han Hyun-hee battery, but Son's throw to second was just outside the infield, and shortstop Lee Hak-joo tagged him for the out. It was a perfect steal that Eredia and the SSG dugout couldn't argue with. The highlight of the play was that the pitching coach Bae Young-soo said, "Wow," with a wide smile and a surprised expression on his face.

"I think my strength right now is stealing bases," said Son. But this position (catcher) is not only about the stolen base jersey. It's a position where you have to be good at running the game, catching, blocking, and everything else, so I'm trying to learn and improve in other areas."

Although he suffered a major setback in his first game, Son is a big-time catching prospect with plenty of years left in his career. A graduate of Hope University, Shinheungjoong University, and Jangang High School, Son was the first overall pick of Lotte in the 2021 KBO Draft after being recognized as a hexagonal catcher who could hit, run, and catch in high school. After showing promise with a 0.316 batting average and 0.725 OPS in 20 games in his rookie year, he enlisted in the Merchant Marine and completed his military service.

As a youngster, he watched legendary catcher Buster Posey (36-retired) of the San Francisco Giants in Major League Baseball and dreamed of becoming a catcher. Posey was drafted by San Francisco with the fifth overall pick in the first round of the 2008 Major League Baseball draft, and in 2010, his second year as a starter, he led the team to its first World Series title in 56 years. He went on to lead the Giants to two more World Series titles, winning Rookie of the Year (2010), League MVP (2012), batting title (2012), five Silver Slugger Awards, and one Gold Glove (2016).

"When I was in the sixth grade to the first year of middle school, I was so impressed with Forge's play. He was a role model because he had leadership even at a young age, and I wanted to emulate that." "Right now, I'm looking up to senior Yoo Kang-nam as a role model. I haven't had a personal conversation with him yet, but he's really good at explaining things like ball placement during a match in a way that I can understand, so I keep asking him questions and trying to get help."

He used the favorable first experience as nourishment for growth. "Through this game, I really realized that I need to get to know my team's pitchers better than my opponents," he reflected, "I'm a catcher who adjusts to the pitcher a lot. 메이저사이트 When mutual trust is established, I will make a lead that reflects my intentions, but at first, I try very hard to approach the pitcher and think about his position and be considerate." "I think the first team is more about results than process. The goal is to beat the top teams in the standings, but from the next game, I will try to show more as a catcher who can work well with the pitcher."

"I want to be a national team member like my sisters!" Korea's present meets its future

 "I want to be a national team player like my sisters!"

Small stature, somewhere between 130 and 40 centimeters, small voice, fern-like hands. But he throws a fastball with ease. Even the 'national team members' who were watching exclaimed, "Wow!".

On the 17th, the Women's Baseball Festival 2023 was held at the Cheonan Living Sports Baseball Field. The highlight of the day was a joint practice game between the Korean national women's baseball team and girls playing in the Little Baseball Team and Junior Women's Baseball Team.

The teams were divided into blue and white teams with a mix of national team members and little and junior girls. The starting pitcher for the white team was Sejong Angels pitcher Sun Ju-ha (6th grade). National pitcher Kim Bomi, who served as the day-to-day manager of the white team, boldly put the youngest player on the mound. "There should be more rising stars than falling stars," Kim smiled.

Seon Ju-ha, who took the mound to the same cheers as her older sisters, pitched well under the careful guidance of her teammate, national catcher Lee Bitna. The shy Sun Joo-ha said, "I was so nervous throwing the ball in front of my national team sisters. I will continue to play baseball and become a member of the national team."

The Blue Team started off strong. From the start, they pushed the white team hard. After scoring a large number of runs, the team brought in Choi Ji-an (grade 4) from Seongdong-gu Little Baseball Team and Son Dan-ah (grade 5) from Gwangsan-gu Little Baseball Team.

Choi Ji-an, who played hard with her tiny hands and feet, said, "It's so much fun. I want to come again," she said with a big smile. Son Dan-ah is related to Kia Tigers outfielder Choi Hyung-woo. She often plays with Choi's son. "My goal is to play baseball harder and become a national team member!" exclaimed Son Dan-ah, who often attends KIA Tigers games.

They grow up to become members of the Korean national baseball team. There's a precedent. Choi Dre (16), an infielder who won a bronze medal at the Asian Cup (BFA) in Hong Kong when she was first selected for the women's national baseball team in 2023, said, "When I was a little girl and I saw my older sisters on the national team, 안전놀이터 I just thought it was so exciting and cool. I wanted to be there and wear the Taeguk-marked jersey, but now that I've traveled to the international tournament in it, it's a new feeling."

Choi Dre said, "There are many young girls who already have national team qualities. (Sun) Ju-ha is in the sixth grade, and I was surprised that the ball was so fast. I think I'm better than I was at that age. I'm good enough now, so I hope I can continue to play baseball and play for the national team together," she smiled.

Behind the Scenes of Kim Jae-sung's 'Surprise First Base' "For the first time in my baseball career, all I got was a fungo."

 "All I got was a pongo."

Samsung Lions catcher Kim Jae-sung, 27, recently had an unconventional "affair. Kim Jae-sung had the unusual experience of starting at first base for two consecutive games, on the 17th and 18th against the Suwon KT Wiz. 

It was Samsung's move to bolster its offense. Samsung had recently been thinking about how to utilize its three hitting catchers, and came up with the idea of using Kim Jae-sung at first base to get all three catchers into the game. Son Joo-in, a defensive coach, recommended that Kim Jae-sung play first base, and when Park Jin-man asked him about it, he responded with a confident "I'll play first base" and Samsung's special lineup was finalized. In preparation for Oh's absence, the team had been practicing first base defense for several days.

Kim Jae-sung himself was surprised by the sudden appearance. "My grandson's coach told me to take a fungo, so I took an infield fungo a few days ago. I was surprised when I saw the starting lineup the day before (on the 16th). At first, I thought they had mislabeled (Kim) Jae-sang. I was nervous," he recalled.

Kim confessed that he had never played first base defense in his entire amateur career. This was his first time playing first base in a game, both professionally and in his baseball career. "It was my first time playing first base, and it was really hard. It's a position that looks easy, but I realized very quickly that it wasn't. I thought my (first base) brothers were great," he said, shaking his head. 

Despite playing first base for the first time in his life, Kim Jae-sung was relatively solid and did a good job defending the position. Coach Park Jin-man, who watched the game on the 17th, said, "Kim Jae-sung did a good job defending first base. It was his first time, but he was relaxed, and he must have been confused about the direction of the ball, but his stability stood out after the first game." He praised the first baseman. 

However, Kim Jae-sung said he was actually nervous about the game. "There were people around me saying, 'Relax,' but I didn't listen. Instead, he retorted, "It's an important game, so how can I relax? More than his successful defense, Kim Jae-sung remembers and was bothered by the throwing error that tied the game in the 16th inning. He blamed himself for not being able to catch a throw from third baseman Kim Young-woong in a two-on-three situation with a one-run lead.

To avoid repeating the same mistake, Kim Jae-sung focused on the next day's game. On the 18th, he finished the game with a scoreless inning. 토토사이트 "It wasn't easy to concentrate because I was in an awkward position, but it helped that I prepared by imagining situations such as hitting and serving positions," he smiled. 

Despite his awkwardness on defense, he swung the bat the way the team wanted him to. After going 4-for-3 on Day 17, he continued his hot hitting on Day 18, going 4-for-2 with a double and two RBIs. In the 18th game, which featured all three catchers, he combined with Kang Min-ho and Kim Tae-gun for seven hits and three RBIs to lead the team to a 7-5 victory. Kim Jae-sung's performance shined. 

"I was lucky to get a good result," he said, adding, "I will continue to work hard and focus on playing well for the team (whether at first base or catcher)."

"Even if you can't hit, as long as you make your fans smile every day," "This guy called Woo Sung, he's so charming.

 Kia Tigers outfielder Lee Woo-sung saved the day again. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the game on the line, Lee hit a dramatic two-run double to tie the game. It was a shame that Lee was left off the field in the extra innings.

KIA played to a 7-7 draw against the NC Dinos in Gwangju on June 18.

KIA and NC battled to the wire throughout the three-game series this weekend. Today was no different. After giving up two runs in the top of the first inning, KIA fought back in the bottom of the inning to take a 4-2 lead with RBI singles from Shin Beom-soo and Choi Won-jun.

Park Gun-woo's homer in the top of the fifth, Byun Woo-hyuk's homer in the bottom of the sixth, and Kim Sung-wook's homer in the top of the seventh gave KIA a 5-4 lead going into the seventh inning.

KIA sent Jang Hyun-sik to the mound in the top of the eighth. However, Jang gave up a leadoff single to Jae-Hwan Shin and a tying double to Seo Ho-Cheol two batters later. The KIA bench brought up another left-hander, Choi Ji-min, but he gave up a shocking two-run homer to pinch-hitter Yoon Hyung-jun.

Trailing 5-7 in the bottom of the ninth, KIA faced opposing closer Lee Yong-chan in its final at-bat. With two outs and runners on first and second after a walk by Choi Won-jun and a single by Park Chan-ho, Lee Woo-sung took advantage of a four-pitch forkball from Lee Yoo-chan and smashed a two-run double into the left field seats to tie the game and send the atmosphere at Gwangju-Kia Champions Field into overdrive.

With the game heading into extra innings, Lee Woo-sung was replaced by catcher Kim Sun-woo to finish the game. Without Lee, the Kia bats struggled in extra innings and the game ended in a 7-7 tie.

In 50 games this season, Lee Woo-sung has had an incredible season, hitting .329 with 47 hits, five home runs, 20 RBIs, a .398 on-base percentage, and a .483 slugging percentage. He has recently taken over the starting right field spot, and the team is looking forward to the synergy in the outfield with Lee Woo-sung if Na Sung-bum returns soon.

KIA manager Kim Jong-guk said, "Lee Woo-sung is our main right fielder right now. He has both long power and accuracy in his batting, and his defense is stable. He looks a little dull from the outside, but he is good at both defense and baserunning. 메이저놀이터 Even though he is a catcher, his base running and defense are amazing," he said, giving him a thumbs-up.

"I've been on the team for a few years now, and I've always been impressed by the enthusiasm of the KIA fans. Hearing them cheer at a baseball game in the fall last year gave me chills. I want to hear the KIA fans' cheers from a higher level until the end of the fall baseball season. There is nothing personal about it. I don't care if I don't get a hit, as long as I can get in scoring position and score a run for my team to win. My biggest goal is to make the Kia fans smile every day by making even one small play to help the team win."

With such a 'dominant spirit', KIA fans are happy every day.

'Lefty' Williams to wipe tears from Hanwha fans' eyes

 Hanwha has finally found a new foreign bat to replace O'Grady.

The Hanwha Eagles announced in a press release on April 18 that they have signed Nick Williams, a left-handed hitting outfielder from the United States, for a total of $450,000 ($150,000 signing bonus, $250,000 salary, and $50,000 incentive) to replace Brian O'Grady. "I want to help the team win as many games as possible and finish the season on a high note," Williams said after signing, "and I can't wait to meet the Eagles fans."

Williams, who has played mostly in right field in the big leagues, made his big league debut with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2017 and spent four seasons with the Chicago White Sox, batting .251 with 31 home runs, 110 RBIs and 109 runs scored in 294 games. He spent last year and this year playing for the Mexican League's Toros de Tijuana instead of the United States. Williams is expected to arrive sometime this coming weekend after finalizing the necessary administrative procedures, including obtaining a visa.

A first baseman instead of an active big leaguer 

Hanwha spent a season with a foreign hitter last year in Mike Tuckman (Chicago Cubs). Tuckman, a batting average of .289 with 12 home runs, 43 RBIs, 88 runs scored, and 19 stolen bases, played in every game last year as Hanwha's starting center fielder. While he didn't break out in the league like Jose Pirela (Samsung Lions), he did enough to warrant consideration for a second contract, finishing first on the team in batting average, hits, runs scored, and home runs.

However, Hanwha declined to re-sign Tuckman after last year's season. Tuckman's relatively low home run and RBI totals, as well as his .216 batting average in scoring position last year as he was primarily a leadoff hitter, did not satisfy Hanwha. In fact, with a decent table-setter in Jeong Eun-won, what Hanwha really needed was a big bat like Tuckman who could produce home runs and RBIs in the middle of the order, rather than a ho-hitter like Tuckman.

The new player Hanwha acquired last December for a total of $900,000 was O'Grady, a left-handed slugger. O'Grady has only four home runs and 12 RBIs in his big league career, but he has proven his power, hitting 28 home runs and 77 RBIs at Triple-A in 2019. O'Grady also played for the Seibu Lions of Nippon Professional Baseball last year, where he hit 15 home runs, good for second on the team.

However, Hanwha was so focused on his 15 home runs in Nippon Professional Baseball that they overlooked the fact that O'Grady had a .213 batting average last year, the lowest of any Pacific League hitter in regulation. O'Grady, who swings for the fences, ended his two-month stint in Korea on May 31 when he was claimed off waivers after starting the year with an embarrassing .125 batting average with no home runs, eight RBIs, three runs scored, and a .337 on-base percentage (OPS) in 22 games. 

Even more unfortunate was the performance of Tuckman, whom Hanwha declined to re-sign. Signed to a minor league deal with the Cubs, Tuckman hit a respectable .278 with three home runs, 15 RBIs, and 17 runs scored in Triple-A before receiving a big league call-up on May 19 in place of Cody Bellinger, who was placed on the disabled list. Tuckman has now played 26 games in the big leagues, batting .280 with nine RBIs, 12 runs scored and two doubles. As a result, the Dodgers gave up big-leaguer Tuckman to acquire O'Grady.

'31-homer big leaguer' Williams, if only he could hit...

After making his big league debut in June 2017 at the age of 23, Williams quickly became the Phillies' starting right fielder, batting .288 with 12 home runs and 55 RBIs in 83 games (note that the Phillies also had a Korean hitter in 2017, Hyun-Soo Kim, who plays for the LG Twins). In 2018, Williams continued to be Philadelphia's starting right fielder, hitting .256 with 17 home runs and 50 RBIs in 140 games.

However, the below-average defender failed to show much improvement at the plate and struggled in 2019, batting .151 with two home runs and five RBIs before being released by the team in August 2020. He moved to the Chicago White Sox in 2021, but was released after just four games, and spent last year and this year in the Mexican League instead of the major leagues. He was on the radar of Hanwha, which was looking for a new foreign bat to replace O'Grady.

The Mexican League is known for being a traditional ride-or-die league, so you can't take his performance in the Mexican League with 100% confidence. However, Williams' performance in the Mexican League is impressive. Last year, he hit .370 with 29 home runs and 72 RBIs, and this year, he's batting .304 with nine home runs and 28 RBIs. If he can bring that kind of hitting to Korea from the Mexican League, it could be a huge boost for Hanwha's offense.

With a 31-homer career in the big leagues and a steady presence in the Mexican League, Hanwha head coach Choi Won-ho and fans will be hoping that Williams can provide a lot of power in the center field alongside Noh Si-hwan and Chae Eun-sung. If he can do as well as Willin Rosario, who hit 70 home runs and 231 RBIs in his two years with Hanwha, or 메이저사이트 as well as Gerard Hoying did in the 2018 season, the O'Grady nightmare can be forgotten. 

In fact, Williams hasn't gotten a lot of praise for his defense in the big leagues. However, the Rangers are hoping that even if he can't play defense and is a designated hitter, he can at least provide a solid presence at the plate. Brandon Barnes, Ryon Healy, Hernan Perez, and O'Grady. Williams will arrive on Korean soil with the important task of healing the wounds of Hanwha fans, who have suffered through a string of underperforming foreign hitters with the exception of Tuckman last year.

Plutko's 3-game winning streak against Doosan, a bear hunter at heart

 Once a killer, always a killer. This time around, the bear hunter showed off his skills and led the team to a winning series. The star of the show was LG's Plutko.

In the seventh game of the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League against Doosan at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul on April 18, Plutko pitched seven innings of seven-hit ball, striking out nine and giving up one run (one earned) to lead the team to a 14-3 victory.

After starting the inning with a triple, Plutko ran into his first trouble in the second. With two on and two out, he gave up a single to Park Kye-beom to cut the lead to 2-1. However, he got the next batter, Heo Kyung-min, to fly out to center field to end the inning without further damage.

After an uneventful sixth inning, Plutko ran into trouble again in the seventh. He gave up a leadoff double to Kang Seung-ho and quickly surrendered a scoring position. He got Lee Yoo-chan to fly out to right field, but gave up a single to Heo Kyung-min to put runners on first and third.

But this is where Plutko showed off his crisis management skills. He struck out Kwon Min-seok with three sliders, and then got Kim Dae-woo to ground out to end the inning without a run. The roar after striking out Kim Dae-hyun was especially loud.

Plutko was replaced by Jung Woo-young in the eighth inning and executed his duties flawlessly. Jung Woo-young (two runs in one inning) and Choi Dong-hwan (one run in one inning) came on to close out the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, to secure the win for Plutko and the team.

At the plate, LG's bats came alive early on, 안전놀이터 with all of its starters hitting for extra bases and scoring 15 runs on 19 hits and six walks.

Plutko, who was 8-0 with a 1.82 ERA in 13 games prior to this outing, lowered his ERA to 1.78 and picked up his ninth win of the season. He also remained the only pitcher to complete a full game of regulation innings.

He also continued his reputation as a Doosan killer. After going 2-0 with a 2.55 ERA in three games against Doosan before this game, Plutko lowered his ERA to 2.19 and won three straight games against Doosan.

'Veteran' Jeon Jun-woo's bat wakes up to top monthly batting average despite 'body aches'

 Lotte Giants' Jeon Jun-woo was on fire throughout the weekend series. He went 7-for-12 with a home run and four RBIs. He even hit his sixth home run of the season.

Lotte finished the three-game series against the SSG Landers at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on April 16-18 with a 1-2 record, snapping a four-game losing streak. However, they managed to snap the four-game losing streak with a 7-2 victory on the 18th.

Jeon's role in Lotte's victory was crucial.

After going 1-for-3 with a home run and an RBI on the first day of the series, Jun-woo went 4-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs the next day, his second four-hit game of the season. On the 18th, he had two hits, including a solo home run off Roenis Elias.

"We had an ace pitcher, and I didn't think we were going to score a lot of runs," he said after the game, adding, "I was lucky to get a home run early on, so it was easy."

After slowly picking up his pace in late April, Jun-woo has slowed down a bit in the last month.

However, he broke out of his slump with a 12-game hitting streak, starting on June 23 against the Sasik NC Dinos. In June alone, he is 16-for-59 with 24 doubles, three home runs, 11 RBIs, and a 1.120 OPS in 16 games, which is tops in the league.

"I talked a lot with my hitting coach about direction and timing when I hit, and I think I'm getting better and better at that," he said. 

What's even more surprising is that he's been hitting well despite being out of shape.

During the Samsung Lions' three-game series against Daegu on Sept. 9-11, Jeon felt unwell and received a ringer at the hospital, and was left out of the starting lineup for the 10th game. However, he came in as a pinch-hitter in the top of the ninth inning and hit a run-scoring single, 토토사이트 earning the trust of Lotte manager Larry Sutton by fulfilling his role as a veteran.

"I wasn't in the best shape last week and this week because of my body, but I thought a lot about timing, and I kept typing that in my head, so I got a lot of good hits," Jeon said with a smile.