A professional baseball player... Kim Tae-hyung himself revealed why Lotte was left on the ground immediately after a shocking five-game losing streak

Sep 11, 2025

The game between the Lotte Giants and the Hanwha Eagles at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 10th. Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung is lost in thought. Busan = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.09.10/

"If a professional baseball player says he has no experience, he's the best and the main player when he comes out in a uniform. You have to get through it."

Lotte Giants manager Kim Tae-hyung ordered all the players to gather on the ground after losing 0-13 against the Hanwha Eagles in Busan on the 10th.

The result was also the result, but the content of the game itself was disastrous. The young infielders were all shaken. Five errors were recorded, with second baseman Han Tae-yang turning to third baseman Son Ho-young, shortstop Jeon Min-jae and first baseman Na Seung-yeop in the second inning. It is safe to say that the defense itself was not properly played even for unrecorded errors. He had only five earned runs out of 13 runs.

Above all, I had to catch it because it was a game with ace Alec Gamboa. Lotte's team atmosphere suddenly fell to the bottom as it lost 12 consecutive games ahead of its last five consecutive losses. Lotte, which was stable third place, fell to sixth place, and even came to a situation where autumn baseball cannot be guaranteed because it is two games apart from the fifth-place Samsung Lions.

Regarding Gamboa's poor performance of eight runs (three earned runs) in four innings before the match against the Gwangju KIA Tigers on the 11th, head coach Kim said "It's not cool even if (the defense) blocks him, but yesterday I saw that the infielders told me not to come to the ball." What are you so nervous about?" he sighed.

Coach Kim eventually instructed the ground to gather all the players after the match against Hanwha. Injured Jeon Joon-woo and foreign hitter Victor Reyes were also no exceptions. Defensive training was conducted for about 30 minutes led by bench coach Kim Min-jae, and head coach Kim watched the training one step away. It was a very unusual night training ahead of the away game in Gwangju.

The game between the Lotte Giants and the Hanwha Eagles at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 10th. Lotte second baseman Han Tae-yang, who made a mistake on Hanwha Kim Tae-yeon's hit with two outs and runners on first and third in the top of the fourth inning, is blaming himself. Busan = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.09.10/

The game between the Lotte Giants and the Hanwha Eagles at Sajik Stadium in Busan on the 10th. Lotte's Jeon Min-jae, who failed to handle Hanwha's Ha Joo-seok infield fly ball with two outs and runners on the first and second bases in the top of the third inning, is blaming himself. Busan = Reporter Park Jae-man pjm@sportschosun.com /2025.09.10/

Regarding his direct order to train, Kim said, `Yesterday (10th) could be a problem until today's game if we just let it go. By training again really simply, I wanted them to find psychological stability. In fact, pitchers are not able to get zero points once in a while, so if they give them consecutive walks and come down, they make them throw a little more from the bullpen. This is because if you come down and icing and just move on, and take the mound in the next game, there are still afterimages. It can be seen as similar to that context. It was a training exercise meant to be confident once again. In a way, it's like having a director meeting."

Are inexperienced young infielders feeling increasingly pressured by repeated defeats when the five-way battle is the fiercest.

Coach Kim should overcome this. It should not be said that a professional baseball player has no experience. If you come out in uniform, you are the best and the main player, but you have to overcome it," he said emphatically.

Regardless of the night training the previous day, Lotte's team conducted normal training on the same day. Jeon Jun-woo, who is out in the aftermath of his hamstring injury, accelerated his return by conducting batting training outdoors for the first time on the day. It was one piece of hopeful news for Lotte, which has been depressed recently.

Lotte made the starting lineup with Hwang Sung-bin (center fielder), Ko Seung-min (second baseman), Na Seung-yeop (first baseman), Reyes (left fielder), Yoon Dong-hee (right fielder), Son Ho-young (third baseman), Park Chan-hyung (designated hitter), Jeon Min-jae (striker) and Information-geun (catcher). The starting pitcher is Na Kyun-an.

Except for Han Tae-yang, the rest of the infielders stayed, and only the second baseman was changed to Ko Seung-min.

The game between KT and Lotte at KT Wiz Park in Suwon on the 3rd. Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung is replacing center fielder at the bottom of the ninth inning with one out and runners on first and second bases. Suwon = Song Jeong-heon Reporter's songs@sportschosun.com/2025.09.03/

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.