Samsung Lions left-handed pitcher Lee Sang-min (33) recalled the moment he first stepped into the plate after his debut.
Lee Sang-min pitched in relief in the match against Kiwoom Heroes of the ‘2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League’ held at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 19th, striking out 1 inning and winning a scoreless victory. This is the first win of the season.
The match was fiercely contested, going to the 12th inning. As the designated hitter disappeared in the process of Samsung adjusting the defensive position, Lee Sang-min had a chance to hit with 2 outs and 1st and 2nd base in the 12th inning. Against Kiwoom reliever Kim Seong-jin, Sang-min Lee hit the third pitch with a 1-ball, 1-strike, but was caught with a ground ball by the first baseman.
As Lee Sang-min entered the dugout for an interview the next day, he heard cheers and jokes from his colleagues saying, “Korean Ohtani!” Lee Sang-min laughed, saying, “I want to focus on pitching.” “I didn’t mind. But he liked it so much in the dugout that he wanted to try it. Originally, the head coach told me to stand still and not swing, but after the second pitch, a sign to hit came out. However, the slider came in and hit it wrong. My hand still hurts,” he said of the situation at the time.
Lee Sang-min, who plays an active role as a Samsung left-handed reliever, played as a fielder until high school. “When I was an amateur, I grew up watching coach Lee Seung-yeop (Doosan) as a batter, and I really liked head coach Lee Byeong-gyu (Samsung) for his style. As a pitcher, I had a chance to throw in a practice game when I was in my second year of high school, but the manager said I had a good pitch and asked me to try pitching, so I did it.”
Lee Sang-min,메이저사이트 who had the best season last season with an average ERA of 3.68 in 46 games (29⅓ innings) with 9 holds, is recording an ERA of 6.00 with 1 win and 1 hold in 5 games (6 innings) this season. Lee Sang-min regretted, “I didn’t come up well last year, so it wasn’t until the end of May that I came up to the first team.” Still, he did well in the Futures League, so he seems to have improved his condition a month earlier than last year.”
“I’m playing baseball so much right now,” said Lee Sang-min with a smile, “My goal is to set the record for the oldest in the KBO League. I want to play baseball for a long, long time like senior Song Jin-woo. That’s why (Oh) Seung-hwan hyung is telling me to break the record for the oldest.”
