“The defense is as good as Park Seung-wook. It’s better than veterans.”
He was recognized by a strict coach when it came to defense. He is not tall, but he received passing points for his agile footwork and fast throwing. It is an amazing achievement for a 20-year-old rookie who just debuted.
Lee Ho-joon of the Lotte Giants is the main character. He wore the Lotte uniform as the third player in the rookie draft last year.
At the beginning of the season, I only watched the performances of Jeon Mir, the first rounder, and Chung Hyun-soo, the second rounder, in the middle and second half.
Since July, however, he has gradually made his debut in the main league as a pinch runner, and Lee Ho-joon’s Day was also held in September. It was against the Busan KIA Tigers on Sept. 28.
In the top of the fourth inning, Lee Ho-joon was substituted at second base instead of Ko Seung-min, and marked his first hit with a triple to right-center. He later scored a point. In the bottom of the sixth inning, he also hit a two-run double to left-center to display stellar presence.
Shortstop is considered one of Lotte’s weaknesses. Veteran player Park Seung-wook has been in charge of the team throughout the entire season. He had his first three-digit hit since his debut this year. However, he had 22 errors to rank fourth in this category, which left many regrets. He also showed a slight limit in batting average with an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of 0.716.
Nevertheless, Park was appointed throughout the year without serving in the second division. He gained perfect advantage in competition with existing players including Noh Jin-hyuk and Lee Hak-joo, who were hired alternately at the beginning of the season. 메이저놀이터
After keeping an eye on Lee Ho-joon for a long time, Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung gave him little chances at the end of the season. “He is as good as Park Seung-wook in defense. He has good speed and good guessing ability,” he said. “He has improved a lot since he first joined the team last year.”
Analysts say that although he cannot afford to assume the heavy responsibility right now, he is highly anticipated in the future. He has a sense of stability in defense and good speed and agility. He is also widely used as a pinch-runner and defense.
Other positions at Lotte’s infield are now perfectly established. Third baseman Sohn Ho-young, second baseman Ko Seung-min and first baseman Na Seung-yeop are the backbone of the team’s batters. Outfielders with Yoon Dong-hee at the center are also tight when renewing contract with foreign player Reyes.
Shortstop is the only place left. Roh seems to have been classified as a rotation agent on the first and third bases rather than shortstop in the coach Kim Tae-hyung’s mind. Lee Ho-joon is expected to compete for shortstop next season along with other promising players including Park Seung-wook, the former coach, and Han Tae-yang (November) and Kim Se-min (January next year), who will return from military service.
“First of all, being young is my strength. When you look at the overall defense, focus, hit, and divide it into these, you use a few players who are ahead of you. First of all, you have a natural talent.”
