“We saw the hitting, the defense, the main talent.”
When I relayed Hong’s positive assessment, he said, “You never know when your (batting) cycle is going to drop. I don’t think we have a chance. I can’t afford to think about next season. I’m doing everything I can for each game.”
July 29 against the Samsung Lions at the Gocheok Dome. Lee Ju-hyung (22), the No. 7 outfielder, led off the third inning with a single to center field. On the day he joined the Kiwoom Heroes from the LG Twins, he singled and scored in his first at-bat.
Lee has been the hottest player on the Heroes lately. In his last three games, from the NC Dinos on the 6th to the Hanwha Eagles on the 8th, he went 6-for-13 with one home run. He has hit safely in eight of his last 10 games.
In 38 games since joining the team, he’s batting .322 (49-for-152) with five home runs, 27 RBI, 22 runs scored, three doubles and an OPS of .884. He has already played more games for the Heroes than he has for LG.
He was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2020 rookie draft from Gyeongnam High School. He didn’t expect to be traded. “I was upset when I heard the trade news. I didn’t expect to play in the first team right away,” he said.
Once I got to my new team, it was like the ocean splitting in two. With the Twins, he played as a substitute.
For the Arrows, he starts every game. The Young Heroes are a team of opportunity for young prospects. Of course, it’s up to the players to seize that opportunity.
When asked to name his most memorable moment since joining the Heroes, he said, “My first professional home run.” It was on August 3 against LG Electronics in Jamsil, his fifth game with the team. In his first at-bat in the top of the first inning, he took a changeup from Casey Kelly and hit it into the stands in the right field corner. He hit his first professional home run against LG, his former team a week earlier.
After his first home run, he added four more, giving him five for his career.
“I came up and played two games and played against LG. It was crazy. When I saw the other team, I realized that I was now a real Heroes player and that I had been transferred.”
Shortly after joining his new team, he received a phone call from senior Lee Jung-hoo. “I didn’t know Lee Jung-hoo directly, but I think coach Lee Jong-beom (Lee’s father) told me about him. He told me a lot of good things over the phone, including how to manage injuries.”
In fact, Lee’s injury prompted Lee’s trade. Lee was out for the season in July due to an injury.
September 1 against KT in Gochuk. Lee Ju-hyung singled with runners on first and second in the bottom of the first inning and sprinted to third base. 메이저사이트
Lee Ju-hyung hits a two-run double in the first inning against Doosan on August 24.
The Heroes decided to send starting pitcher Choi Won-tae to LG in a trade for Lee Ju-hyung and pitcher Kim Dong-gyu. The team gave up on competing in fall baseball and switched to preparing for next season.
“When Coach Lee Jong-beom was the hitting coach of the second team, I asked him a lot of questions and learned a lot. He took good care of me. He even brought me Jung-hoo-type equipment,” he said.
As he continued to excel with the Heroes, the words “Jung-hoo’s successor” and “the next Jung-hoo” appeared in front of his name. It’s a compliment that he will fill the shoes of Lee Jung-hoo, who is headed to the Major Leagues at the end of the season. It’s an honor to be mentioned alongside top hitters Lee Jung-hoo and Kang.
“Jung-hoo is an unbeatable player. It feels good to hear that, but ‘the next Lee Jung-hoo’…. I want to be even one-third of what he is, and I will do my best to be a player who can fill his shoes.”
On the day he went 0-for-5 for the first time, the senior called him. “He told me to forget about it quickly and think about what I can do in the future because I still have a game tomorrow. Those words are still in my head.”
August 17 against the Gwangju KIA. Lee stole third base with one out in the third inning.
The top of the first inning against Lotte in Gocheok on Aug. 10. Lee Joo-hyung, playing center field, catches Yoon Dong-hee’s hit with runners on first and second. pjm@sportschosun.com
I did.
There’s a swing you want to emulate. I often watch batting videos of Masataka Yoshida (30) of the Boston Red Sox. He’s a right-handed hitting outfielder like Lee Joo-hyung. He batted fourth for the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball before moving to the major leagues last winter. Yoshida, who batted fourth in the Opening Day lineup, has been a solid center fielder for Boston.
I got to know Yoshida after watching him play for Japan at the World Baseball Classic (WBC), where he batted fourth and fifth.
“Smooth swing. I want to learn the batting mechanics to hit hard with my small frame (1m73.87kg),” he said.
Hanwha Eagles home run hitter Noh Si-hwan (23) is a year older than Yoshida. “I felt and learned a lot from watching Shi-hwan in high school,” he said.