I never went to the second team last year…I'm not hitting a 20% batting average? Even Yun Dong-hee went to the second army. Will it send a strong message to the 8th-ranked lineup in team batting average?

Apr 08, 2025

The KBO League game between Lotte and Doosan held at Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan on the 5th. Lotte's Yoon Dong-hee gets on base with a walk in the fifth inning. Busan = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.04.05/

Key to offense and defense recognized by the head coach. However, there was no business due to the severe poor batting performance.

Lotte Giants' Yoon Dong-hee was canceled from the first team on the 7th. Lotte excluded pitcher Park Joon-woo and infielder Kang Sung-woo from the first-team entry along with Yoon Dong-hee.

Yoon Dong-hee, from Yatap High School, joined Lotte in the second and third round of 2022 and is now a fourth-year player. However, Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung is the mainstay of Lotte's fielders.

He was the center of the team in offense and defense, from the table setter to the clean-up trio, the slugging power that shot 14 home runs last year in a measured trail, the best strength in the team, and the defense that covers all three spots in the outfield even with short experience.

As a result, it was never eliminated from the first team last year. This is the point where Yoon Dong-hee's presence in the team, as well as his strong physical strength and excellent physical management, both pitching and hitting were often injured throughout the season last year. It was also the result of the hard work of head coach Kim Tae-hyung, who trusted and supported Yoon Dong-hee despite his poor batting average of 2229 in April at the beginning of the season.

Lotte Jeon Jun-woo, director Kim Tae-hyung, and Yoon Dong-hee posing at the media day. Jamsil = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.03.20/

In addition, the team's popularity was also No. 1 thanks to its tall, slim body, and compliance face. He proudly engraved his name on top of Lotte's uniform sales last year.

Trust remained unchanged this year. Coach Kim Tae-hyung picked Yoon Dong-hee as the player to be played by Lotte during the Media Day ahead of this season.

But the slump was too much. He occasionally hit one hit each, and in the match against the Hanwha Eagles in Daejeon on April 2, he was recorded as the first batter to pass the 8m Monster Wall against Moon Dong-joo since the opening of the new stadium.

Nevertheless, the batting average did not rise below 20%. He played in 13 games this season, hitting a batting average of 179, with one home run and two RBIs, and an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of 0.629.

In the end, the head coach made a decision. He decided that it would be better to increase his sense of play in the second division for the time being.

KBO League match between Hanwha and Lotte at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 2nd. Lotte's Yoon Dong-hee hit a solo home run against Hanwha's Moon Dong-ju in the second inning. Daejeon =Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.04.02/

With the cancellation of Yoon Dong-hee, only four outfielders in Lotte's first team are left: Cho Se-jin, Jang Doo-sung, Jeon Joon-woo, Reyes. It is expected that Hwang Sung-bin, who left on the 28th of last month due to injury, or Lee In-han, who has the ability to hit with a single shot, will make a call-up.

Lotte ranks eighth among the 10 teams with a team batting average of 241 until the 7th. In particular, in the match against the Doosan Bears in Busan on the 6th, they were upset 5-6 even when leading 5-0, took the lead 12-7 again, lost 12-15 and suffered a bloody battle of 4 hours and 53 minutes in regular innings. Can Yoon Dong-hee's cancellation and a day off be a turning point.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.