Professional baseball team Lotte Giants won their first spring camp exhibition game amid an illegal gambling scandal. The bat of Han Dong-hee, dubbed the 'post Lee Dae-ho,' who returned to Lotte after completing his defense duty, exploded properly.
Han Dong-hee, a power-hitting prospect for Lotte participating in the first camp in Tainan, Taiwan, swung his bat fiercely, including the game-winning hit, going 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs and 1 run to lead the team to a 6-3 victory in the exhibition game against the Taichung Hawks of the Taiwanese professional baseball league on the 14th.
That day Lotte set its starting lineup as right fielder Jang Du-seong, second baseman Han Tae-yang, left fielder Víctor Reyes, designated hitter Jeon Jun-woo, first baseman Han Dong-hee, center fielder Son Ho-young, third baseman Kim Min-sung, catcher Yoo Kang-nam and shortstop Jeon Min-jae.
With Na Seung-yeop, Go Seung-min, Kim Dong-hyeok and Kim Se-min sent back to Korea on the 14th amid the illegal gambling scandal, Lotte players played the exhibition game against Taichung in a calm atmosphere.
Han Dong-hee struck out in his first at-bat in the second inning, but followed with an RBI single in the third and erupted for a two-run double in the fifth to help complete a big inning. He added a center-field hit in the seventh to finish with three hits.
Han Dong-hee graduated from Gyeongnam High School and was selected by Lotte in the first round in 2018, debuting in the professional ranks. He has appeared in 661 first-team games with a .262 batting average (2,093 at-bats, 548 hits), 59 home runs, 270 RBIs and 226 runs. He hit double-digit home runs for three consecutive years starting in 2020.
Han Dong-hee bombarded the Futures level before returning. Last year, playing for Sangmu, he posted monstrous numbers with a .400 batting average, 154 hits, 27 home runs, 115 RBIs and a 1.155 OPS. He won the Futures League home run title and RBI title. At Sangmu he prepared for a first-team return through regimented life, continuous training and mind control.
He also received lessons from coach Heo Il, who was a minor league coach for the Cleveland Guardians and had been a teammate at Lotte, and in January he received biomechanical data assistance from Tsukuba University. After being discharged last December, he prepared for the season almost without rest.
In an interview Han Dong-hee said, "I have high expectations for myself. I think I can do everything well, and if I do well we will definitely reach postseason play, so I am preparing with that in mind."
He added, "Even before going to Sangmu I felt I had to do well, but I think I am more mature now than I was then. So I think I can do better. Before I thought, 'I have to do well,' but now it feels like, 'I can do well,'" he said confidently.
Son Ho-young displayed a fierce batting touch, producing a triple and a double and drawing a walk to finish 2 for 3 with a run. In addition, Víctor Reyes recorded multi-hits with hits in the first and third innings, and Kim Min-sung hit a two-run double.
Son Ho-young, who is attempting a transition to an outfield position in center field, blasted a double and a triple, finishing with two hits and a walk in three at-bats.
Starting pitcher Park Jin threw three innings, allowing one hit, one walk, three strikeouts and one run. The second pitcher, Asian quota Japanese pitcher Kyoyama, held firm with two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out three. He gave up one hit and two walks but fanned three batters. His top speed reached 149 km/h.
Afterwards, Kim Ki-jun, Park Jun-woo and Lee Young-jae each recorded a scoreless inning. On the other hand, Hong Min-ki showed some shakiness, allowing two runs in one inning.
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