A star in the 4th year? A man who still calls himself a prospect...I have a small goal this year

Mar 16, 2025

A star in the 4th year? A man who still calls himself a prospect...I have a small goal this year
Lotte Yoon Dong-hee for the interview. Reporter Kim Young-rok



A star in the 4th year? A man who still calls himself a prospect...I have a small goal this year
The KBO League exhibition game between Lotte and Hanwha at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 13th. Lotte's Yoon Dong-hee hit a tiebreaking solo home run against Hanwha's Kim Seo-hyun in the fifth inning. Busan = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.03.13/
A star in the 4th year? A man who still calls himself a prospect...I have a small goal this year
A game between the Doosan Bears and the Lotte Giants at Sunmarin Stadium in Miyazaki, Japan, on the 2nd. Lotte Yoon Dong-hee is catching her breath. Miyazaki(Japan) = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com/2025.03.02
"If you have too big a goal and you fail, you will feel more disappointed. I always set a small goal. He has seven hits in six consecutive games, which is his goal of the year."

It has now become one of the representative stars of Korean baseball beyond Busan idols.

However, Yoon Dong-hee describes himself as a 4th-year prospect. He is a man who knows the virtues of not rushing, step by step, until he reaches the great reality.




He passed 100 hits in his second year of joining the team and won the Asian Games gold medal with the national flag. Last year, he added a long shot. He was reborn as a mid- to long-range hitter by raising his on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) to 0.829 by shooting 14 home runs.

Will it be worth aiming for 20 home runs this year when the fence at Sajik Stadium has been lowered. Yun Dong-hee, whom I met in Busan, said, "We are carrying out the process as prepared," he said, holding himself together.

On the 13th, he hit a 152km fastball by Young Gun Kim Seo-hyun, a fastball that Hanwha Eagles boasts, and even hit a home run. Yoon Dong-hee said, `I know Kim Seo-hyun is a good pitcher. It worked well to go in for a fastball."




A star in the 4th year? A man who still calls himself a prospect...I have a small goal this year
The KBO League exhibition game between Lotte and Hanwha at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 13th. Lotte's Yoon Dong-hee hit a tiebreaking solo home run against Hanwha's Kim Seo-hyun in the fifth inning. Busan = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.03.13/
Last year, center field was the main position. I moved to right field this year. The focus has changed from the batting order table setter to the central batting lineup. Yoon Dong-hee said "No position or batting order is too burdensome."

Early last year, he fell into a slump while trying to pick out the ball under the pressure of a table setter. I also remember struggling to find a way out in the process of modifying the hitting form. This year is different. Regardless of batting order, he decided to stick to his style of hitting 'strong line drive batting'.

"I'm still a prospect because I'm in my fourth year this year. Still, he played in the first team for two years, and his mindset changed when he saw his juniors. Also, the fans' love is so great. I feel more responsible than burdened."




Hwang Sung-bin, who will work as an outfield partner, is close to him regardless of his age. They constantly communicate and relax even during games.

He is also receiving a lot of help from the teaching of the newly appointed head coach Cho Won-woo. Yoon Dong-hee was impressed by the words "Always "Defend, thinking that it's a two-out full base at the bottom of the ninth inning now." He said, "I'm the type to talk a lot separately."

A star in the 4th year? A man who still calls himself a prospect...I have a small goal this year
A game between the Doosan Bears and the Lotte Giants at Sunmarin Stadium in Miyazaki, Japan, on the 2nd. Lotte Yoon Dong-hee hits a two-run shot with no outs in the bottom of the first inning. Miyazaki(Japan) = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com/2025.03.02
With the help of hitting coaches Lim Hoon and Lee Sung-gon, he clearly established his batting form. Yoon Dong-hee also revealed his theory that `the first condition for a good hitter is to get out quickly when he is in a bad situation.'

This year's goal is, of course, fall baseball. It is a goal that the leadership of Lotte Group, coaching staff and players, teams and fans all desperately want. Yun Dong-hee said "I don't care much about other people's expectations. What if Lotte is a candidate for the 5th round, and what if it is a dark horse. There is no need to expect or be frustrated. I just do my best to go to fall baseball."

However, of course, Yoon Dong-hee has his own goal. He explained that he always sets small goals, saying, `If you have too big a dream, you get more disappointed when you fail.'

Initially, the goal was to hit four hits in each of the three consecutive games, but it was also Yoon Dong-hee who was embarrassed that 198 came out when calculated. Reyes, who set a new record for the most hits in a season last year, has 202.

A star in the 4th year? A man who still calls himself a prospect...I have a small goal this year
A game between the Doosan Bears and the Lotte Giants at Sunmarin Stadium in Miyazaki, Japan, on the 2nd. Lotte's Yoon Dong-hee is taking a hit. Miyazaki(Japan) = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com/2025.03.02
So I revised my goal to '7 hits every 6 games'. He has 168 hits (156 hits last year) in a single season. I want to focus on the steadyness without ups and downs. Yoon Dong-hee said "It seems to have been proven to some extent that he can hit long hits. Now I'm thinking of focusing on contact. If you get it right, you'll get more long balls. If you do well as you prepared, you'll get the results," he said with a big smile. The same reason is that the weight was increased to 90kg last year, which was around 85kg.

When the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was mentioned, I recalled a smile again. Yoon Dong-hee said, "I want to challenge international competitions at any time, even if it's not WBC. If you want to wear the national flag again, you have to do well at Lotte," he reiterated.



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.