The manager consistently sends the same message. However, throughout the exhibition games, the player was unable to find his pace and suffered from continued poor performance. Lotte Giants infielder Son Ho-young (31) is suspect.

Son Ho-young consistently played as if he were being chased by something during the exhibition games. This was true for both offense and defense. The message from manager Kim Tae-hyung, after observing Son Ho-young's performance, remained consistent throughout the exhibition games.

Manager Kim Tae-hyung said, "He needs to maintain his pace. If he can't find his pace, it’s not good. I don’t know what he’s thinking, but he must find his own pace," and emphasized, "The opponent is continuously studying and coming to win; he needs to research instead of consistently hitting the same way at the plate."

Son Ho-young, who came over via trade from the LG Twins last year, became the center of the Lotte lineup. Despite missing games due to hamstring injuries twice, he had a .317 batting average in 102 games (398 at-bats, 126 hits), with 18 home runs and 78 RBIs, achieving high performance. He was indeed a blessing of a trade.

He enters his second season with Lotte, having a completely different standing compared to his time with LG. This is Son Ho-young's first full-time second-year season. However, his anxious appearance throughout the exhibition games has intensified his poor performance. On the 17th, ahead of the game against Kiwoom, manager Kim Tae-hyung reiterated, "He needs to get it under control soon. If it doesn’t work, he tends to push harder. He shouldn’t be anxious and must maintain his pace."

In the final exhibition game on the 18th against Kiwoom, he was selected as the designated hitter in the first spot. It was manager Kim Tae-hyung's intention to have him enter as many at-bats as possible to regain his hitting sense. However, Son Ho-young failed to meet Kim Tae-hyung's expectations. He only managed to get one walk in five at-bats and ended the exhibition games with four at-bats and no hits, along with one strikeout. There were no significant gains.

Ultimately, Son Ho-young recorded a batting average of less than .100 in the exhibition games he played for the first time with Lotte. He finished with a batting average of .091 (2 hits in 22 at-bats), 2 RBIs, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts, and an OPS of .261, which placed him at the bottom among the 26 players who qualified for the exhibition game.

Previously, Son Ho-young was a player who had to compete for a starting position and had an unstable standing. However, in Lotte, his status has completely changed. He is now a legitimate starting player. Throughout the exhibition games, manager Kim Tae-hyung treated Son Ho-young as a starter.

However, Son Ho-young appears to be feeling pressured. He doesn’t fully believe he is a starter yet and has the mindset that he needs to compete. In an interview during spring training, Son Ho-young stated, "There are many infielders who do better than me. Han Tae-yang, Jeon Min-jae, Lee Ho-jun etc., players who can fill the gap without anyone noticing if they are out," adding, "I also feel a need to awaken and perform better because of the younger players. I feel like I must be ready at any moment to lose my position, which is why I try to get in more games." However, while maintaining the tension of competition, he should not be anxious, but in the exhibition games, he only showed signs of being pressured.

This year, there are expectations that Son Ho-young will show his performance from last year in a healthy state. In the offseason, he received injury prevention training in Tokyo, Japan, under the club's initiative. The club is also paying close attention to Son Ho-young. However, he couldn't find his hitting sense throughout the exhibition games. There were even scenes where poor performance in batting affected his defense.

With only four days until the opening, Son Ho-young has been spending the exhibition games in a slump and hopes to return to last year's form starting from the opening game. Could the shocking exhibition game performance serve as a tough preventive shot for Son Ho-young?

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