I like first pitch, and the on-base percentage is 0.317, but the leadoff? Lotte's choice in the injured ward → Director Kim Tae-hyung's concerns

Jun 15, 2025

Lotte Son Ho-young hits a double and runs in the top of the seventh inning at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on the 26th. Jamsil= Reporter's wook@sportschosun.com/2025.04.26/

Lotte-KT match held at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 12th. In the bottom of the first inning, right fielder Kim Dong-hyuk jumps and catches Huh Kyung-min's foul ball with one out and a runner on the first base. Suwon = Reporter Jung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.6.12/

Lotte Giants are in untimely leadoff trouble. This is because both key hitters are out due to injuries.

Lotte appointed Son Ho-young as the first batter against Incheon SSG Landers on the 14th. It is Son Ho-young's first leadoff appearance since joining Lotte in a trade last year.

He hit 18 home runs with a batting average of 316 last year, but he has not met expectations this year. He has only two home runs, and his OPS (on-base plus slugging) is below 0.7.

Why was it Son Ho-young. Currently, Lotte's leadoff Hwang Sung-bin left due to a finger injury, and Jang Doo-sung, who has also been active, faced an all-time bad luck of lung bleeding due to a check ball.

Players who can replace them include Hwang Sung-bin and Jang Doo-sung, as well as Kim Dong-hyuk, who is called the "three shots of foot baseball". He drew intense attention with his crazy super catch against KT. He has fast feet and Kang Heon shoulders, but he has not yet given perfect trust in the center field defense as well as in hitting.

Coach Kim Tae-hyung, who met earlier, said, `There is no one to ride number 1. I'm thinking of putting several players in front of me," he sighed.

Then "I'm thinking about using it because Son Ho-young is the type to play aggressively. I'm going to watch and think about it", he explained.

The game between the Hanwha Eagles and the Lotte Giants at Hanwha Life Ball Park in Daejeon on the 23rd. Lotte Son Ho-young is disappointed after his throwing error. Daejeon = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.05.23/

I can feel a lot of signs of worry. Son Ho-young is a batter of the so-called 'hit ball by looking at the ball' rather than aiming. It also has high-level contact capabilities. However, he also prefers to target the first and second pitches.

Manager Kim Tae-hyung considers it important not to be pushed out of the competition with pitchers at bat. Rather than helping subsequent batters by using 'Yonggyu Nori (playing a lot of fouls and exhausting the pitcher), which is considered the virtue of the leadoff, it seems to have given points to those who know how to attack confidently even when they are not familiar with the ball.

The results were not very good. Son Ho-young had no hits in four at-bats on the day. The batting average dropped to 261.

As if conscious of his batting order in his first at-bat, he was out with a fly ball to the first base after a struggle to reach the full count of six pitches. Later, he hit the first pitch in the third inning, hit a 543 double play, hit the second pitch in the sixth inning, grounded out to third base, and bunt mistake in the eighth inning left the front runner out. Still, it was the only performance that he played to third base when Reyes had a hit and then stepped home when Jeon Jun-woo made a timely hit.

Lotte-SSG match held at SSG Landers Field in Incheon on the 14th. Kim Dong-hyuk is happy after hitting a hit in the top of the eighth inning. Incheon = Reporter Jeong Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2025.6.14/

Due to repeated injury issues, Son Ho-young is now playing second base, not third base. Some say that it is the main position when he was with the LG Twins, and that the defense is better than the third base. However, it is clear that this and that position and batting order movement will act as a burden.

Kim Dong-hyuk drew a walk against Kim Kwang-hyun of the world in his first at-bat, and also hit as a leadoff hitter in the eighth inning, showing his potential. This is why attention is being paid to Kim Tae-hyung's choice in the future.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.