A walk-off single in his first professional at-bat. It turned out to be a priceless moment for the team.
Lee Ho-jun, 20, entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the top of the ninth inning of the home game against the Doosan Bears at Munsu Stadium in Ulsan on April 17.
With the score tied 2-2 and the game going into extra innings, Lee was back at the plate.
Lee, who shares the same name as LG Twins head coach Lee Ho-joon, the “Legend” who hit 337 home runs in his career, joined Lotte in the third round (23rd overall) of the 2024 rookie draft.
He made his first call-up to the first team on April 23, but was sent down a day later without making his debut, and was called up again on April 13. This time, he took the field. He got a taste of a first-team game as a pinch-hitter, and on April 17, he got his first first-team at-bat.
Facing Doosan pitcher Kim Yoo-sung with two outs, Lee cut one ball off at 2B and then fouled off the next five pitches as he moved back to 3B. Eventually, a six-pitch fastball became a ball and Lee was called out. It was Lee’s first career at-bat.
Lee’s walk was more valuable than ever for Lotte.
After Go Seung-min drew a walk to load the bases, 파워볼사이트 추천 Doosan replaced Kim Myung-shin on the mound. He faced Victor Reyes, and a two-run home run put the game out of reach for Lotte. Lee Ho-joon followed with an RBI single.
After the game, Lee said, “I was very nervous, but my coach and seniors told me not to be nervous, and I tried to do that, but I was very nervous. But when I concentrated and saw the ball one by one, my nervousness disappeared, so I think the result was good,” he smiled.
It would have been tempting to take the spotlight with a big hit, but Lee had already put on his ‘team first’ gear. “I thought it would be more appropriate to collect runners first rather than hit,” he said.
“I’ve heard that a lot,” he laughed about having the same name as LG coach Lee Ho-joon, ‘but it doesn’t put any pressure on me,’ he said.
“I’m really happy that I got a good result today. We’re all working out to play baseball in the first team, and I’m really happy to spend time with them,” he said, vowing to ”show my rookie ambition and help the seniors a lot.”