0% chance of precipitation 34 degrees Celsius + 50% humidity not beaten by the heat wave! There are three days left in the first half...Lotte is training hard today as well.
Jul 08, 2025
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The professional baseball scene is breathless due to the continuous heat wave. There are many teams that take a break from pregame training or replace it with indoor training. In particular, in the case of home teams, training usually begins at 3 p.m., so the ground is hotter.
According to the Busan Regional Meteorological Administration, the lowest temperature in the morning reaches 27 degrees and the highest temperature in the day reaches 35 degrees in Busan on the 8th. The probability of precipitation is 0%.
It is a steamer itself, with 49% humidity added to the overwhelming temperature that is not like early July. The hot air is suffocating, and the moisture that winds around your body is painful just by walking outdoors.
However, there are only three days left in the first half of the regular season of professional baseball. Lotte will play three consecutive games against the Doosan Bears in Busan from the 8th to the 10th. Then the All-Star Game break begins.
Busan, ahead of the first game of the series, has been busy since the game. Coach Kim Min-ho's fun-go began around 2:40 p.m. Infielders watching third base and shortstop kept running on the ground to chase the ball.
In addition to the main hitting cage at home plate, toss batting, tee batting, catcher defense training, and basic pitching training were busy in infield foul areas and outfield.
Then, batting training began at 3 o'clock. Foreign hitter Victor Reyes was the first to enter the cage. Lim Hoon, the batting coach, watched him with hawk eyes. Hwang Sung-bin, who returned to the first team stage, followed.
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Not many baseball experts picked Lotte as a candidate for the top five this year. There were many predictions that they would fail in fall baseball for eight consecutive years. Young hitters, who emerged as the mainstay of the team last year, were expected to rise and fall, and there were many voices pointing out the poor bullpen and disappointing infield defense.
However, as of the 7th, when each team played 82-88 games, Lotte tied for second place with the LG Twins with 46 wins, 3 draws and 37 losses. He is being chased by three and a half games behind the first-place Hanwha Eagles, while the fourth-place KIA Tigers. At one point last weekend, he gave up the second place. The battle for the upper and middle ranks is so fierce that the difference between the first and second places is the same as the difference between the second and seventh places (Samsung Lions).
As experts expected, Son Ho-young, Na Seung-yeop and others suffered ups and downs, and Yoon Dong-hee and Ko Seung-min left due to injuries. Hwang Sung has also been injured for about 10 weeks It wasn't until the last three consecutive games that he managed to join the first team. Ace Barnes has also been replaced by Gamboa, and Park Se-woong and Davidson are also struggling. It is a season in which there are strangely many injuries.
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There are more pitchers who will return from injuries and sluggishness in the second half, such as Kim Jin-wook and Han Hyun-hee, and newcomers who are expected to perform on the first-tier stage, such as Cho Se-jin, Kim Tae-hyun, Park Se-hyun and Park Jae-yeop. This is why Lotte is more expected in the second half.
Currently, Gamboa-Park Se-woong-Davidson, who finished pitching in the first half of the season, was excluded from the first-team entry, but is taking a break accompanying the first-team.
Hong Min-ki was selected on the day. As an alternative starter to Gamboa, who was out due to arm pain, he is expected to play the role of an opener for the bullpen day. Lee Min-seok will start on the 9th and Na Kyun-an will start on the 10th. Choi Min-seok is the starting pitcher for Doosan.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
