Defensive mistakes → loss of confidence → a vicious cycle of slump in hitting continues, SF Lee Jung-hoo has no hits in four at-bats again.

Jul 23, 2025

Defensive mistakes → loss of confidence → a vicious cycle of slump in hitting continues, SF Lee Jung-hoo has no hits in four at-bats again.



'A vicious cycle of bad scenes continues.'

San Francisco Giants hitters' batting sense heated up for the first time in a long time. However, Lee Jung-hoo's bat was different as a leadoff. It was cooled down and produced only mischief. Until April and May, he deserved to be called San Francisco's representative hitter, but now only below-average disappointment remains.

Lee Jung-hoo started as the first center fielder in an away game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park in Georgia on the 23rd (Korea time), but had no hits and one walk in four at-bats. With this, Lee's batting average for the season has fallen to 0.246 (90 hits in 366 times at bat).




Although leadoff Lee Jung-hoo was not actively on base, San Francisco showed active batting skills for the first time in a long time. He scored nine runs on 10 hits, including two homers, defeating Atlanta 9-0, and succeeded in escaping six consecutive losses. Lee Jung-hoo and Luis Matos (three hits, one walk) who started as the ninth right fielder were the only San Francisco starters who failed to score a hit on the day.

Lee Jung-hoo faced Atlanta starter Davis Daniel in his first at-bat in the top of the first inning. He hit a four-seam (90.5 miles) that came into the middle of the second pitch after the first strike, but a normal floating ball was caught by left field.

Defensive mistakes → loss of confidence → a vicious cycle of slump in hitting continues, SF Lee Jung-hoo has no hits in four at-bats again.
The second at-bat was with one out and runners on first and second bases in the top of the second inning with a 3-0 lead. Lee Jung-hoo, who also faced Daniel, waited calmly when he saw his opponent's control collapsed. After three first pitches, the fourth pitch also slightly missed the outside strike zone. But the centripetal gave him a strike. Fortunately, Daniel's fifth pitch came up high and he walked.




San Francisco, which made a full base with one out with Lee Jung-hoo's walk, scored one more point with Eliot Ramos' sacrifice fly. Lee Jung-hoo couldn't move, and the inning ended when the next batter, Rafael Devers, hit a ground ball to first base. Lee Jung-hoo didn't score.

Lee Jung-hoo then hit a ground ball to shortstop in the top of the fourth inning after one out, and after two outs in the top of the sixth inning, he was out with a fly ball to center field against Atlanta bullpen pitcher Wander Suero. In his last at-bat in the top of the eighth inning, he was unfortunately withdrawn due to a ground ball to the first base. He was the only hard hit with a batting speed of more than 100 miles on the day, but he went straight to the first baseman.

Defensive mistakes → loss of confidence → a vicious cycle of slump in hitting continues, SF Lee Jung-hoo has no hits in four at-bats again.
San Francisco center fielder Lee Jung-hoo extended his glove late after missing the drop point of a fly in left-center hit by Atlanta Drake Baldwin with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, but allowed a double. Photo = MLB.TV Capture
In the case of Atlanta starter Daniel, the four-seam speed was only 89 to 90 miles (about 145 kilometers). However, Lee Jung-hoo was rarely hit hard. He seemed to have lost a lot of confidence in his swing.




This seems to be due to a big mistake from the defense the previous day. Lee Jung-hoo made a ridiculous mistake in defense in the bottom of the sixth inning against Atlanta the day before. It was two outs and second base in the bottom of the sixth inning when it was trailing 3-8. Atlanta's Drake Baldwin's ball flew into the left-center outfield. San Francisco left fielder Ramos and center fielder Lee Jung-hoo set the direction of the ball and moved. However, no one caught the ball while being conscious of each other. Lee Jung-hoo threw himself late, but the ball fell in front of the glove.

It's a call-play miss between outfielders. Ramos is also at fault, but Lee Jung-hoo's side is more problematic when it comes to gravity. This is because he created a confusing situation by not properly expressing his intention to catch in his area. On-site broadcasters and local media also criticized it as an absurd mistake.

The aftermath seems to have led to a decline in confidence at bat. As a result, the batting slump continues. Only when Lee Jung-hoo breaks this vicious cycle can it come back to life. Revival is expected to be possible only when an opportunity is created.





This article was translated by Naver AI translator.