The 'trade heavyweight' of the professional baseball team Lotte Giants has performed extremely poorly in the exhibition games. Last year, he played a crucial role in the lineup but has been pushed down to the 7th batting order for the opening game.
Lotte will play the 2025 KBO League opening game against LG Twins on the 22nd at Seoul's Jamsil Stadium.
On that day, Hwang Seong-bin (center fielder), Go Seung-min (second baseman), Na Seung-yeop (first baseman), RAY (left fielder), Yoon Dong-hee (right fielder), Jeon Jun-woo (designated hitter), Son Ho-young (third baseman), and Park Seung-wook (shortstop) will be in the starting lineup.
Notable in the batting order is the 7th hitter Son Ho-young. He was traded from LG to Lotte at the end of March last year and had an impressive batting average of .318 with 18 home runs and 78 RBIs. Although he had limited opportunities as a backup at LG, he has unleashed his potential after receiving chances at Lotte. His 18 home runs were the highest on the team.
However, Son Ho-young has performed extremely poorly in this year's exhibition games, achieving a batting average of .091 (2 hits in 22 at-bats) over 8 games.
Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung, during a pre-game interview with reporters when asked about Son Ho-young's batting order, responded, "Did he get one hit?" and explained, "I told him to hit a bit more comfortably at the 7th spot, which isn’t to say it’s comfortable, but since he’s not doing well right now, it might be okay to place him lower than 3rd."
Manager Kim said regarding Son Ho-young's poor performance in the exhibition games, "His personality tends to be a bit aggressive, but since he's not hitting much, he seems to be getting anxious. He’s looking to find his rhythm quickly, and it seems that once he finds one good hit, he will be fine. He seems anxious, but after seeing his batting practice today, I have hope that he will be okay."
The 1st to 3rd spots will be left-handed batters, with RAY batting 4th. Yoon Dong-hee, who usually bats higher in the order, is 5th. Manager Kim commented on Yoon Dong-hee, saying, "He could bat ahead or behind. Batters generally find it a bit more comfortable lower in the order. I’m not putting him 3rd now, but depending on the opposing pitcher, he might move up as he settles in. Jeon Jun-woo is also currently thought of as 6th" and noted that "depending on Hwang Seong-bin's condition, the batting order could change. If Seong-bin can’t play or if he drops down in the order, there could be some changes in the lineup."
Last year, Lotte saw the young players grow. Players like Yoon Dong-hee, Na Seung-yeop, Go Seung-min, Son Ho-young, and Hwang Seong-bin have secured starting positions.
Manager Kim remarked, "The young players have established themselves and become starters. Last year, they played the most games. This year, maintaining that performance is crucial. If they focus too much on wanting to do better, their pace could collapse. That's what I'm most concerned about."
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