‘Farewell to the home fans’ Lee Jung-hoo’s heartfelt advice to his juniors before entering ML: “Aim for the best in the Korean Baseball Organization”
“I don’t want to be the best in my age group, I want to be the best in the Korean professional baseball”
Kiwoom Heroes’ Lee Jung-hoo went 1-for-1 as a pinch-hitter against the Samsung Lions in the 2023 Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on Tuesday.
Lee came to bat in the top of the eighth inning with Kiwoom leading 5-3 and greeted the fans before stepping up to the plate. The Kiwoom fans cheered for Lee Jung-hoo’s final at-bat by singing his chants. After a 12-pitch battle with former teammate Kim Tae-hoon, Lee was retired on a grounder to shortstop. Kiwoom climbed out of last place with a three-game winning streak.
Lee Jung-hoo, who batted .861 with six home runs, 45 RBIs and an OPS of .861 in 86 games (330-for-105) this season, will enter the major leagues via postseason posting. Lee, who hasn’t played a game since suffering an injury against Lotte on July 22, 온라인카지노 came in as a pinch-hitter for the final home game of the season to give the home fans one last look at him on the field.
In a pre-match interview, Lee said, “I’ve been nervous since last night. I think I’m more nervous than I was before my first team debut, and I stood up a lot from last night. I hit a couple of free balls, but I haven’t finished my rehab yet. It’s hard to say I’m 100 percent because I’m skipping all of that and going out to play. The fans were all very supportive, saying, ‘We’ll be there,’ ‘Don’t forget us,’ ‘We’ll be there,’ ‘We’ll be in the U.S.,’ and it was a weird feeling,” he said of playing his final home game.
Kiwoom will be without their top hitter Lee Jung-hoo next year. However, Lee Joo-hyung, who came to Kiwoom after the team sent starter Choi Won-tae to LG, has already reached his full potential and is ready to fill Lee’s shoes.
“Our team is always good at filling in when someone is out,” Lee said. (Lee) has adapted well to our team and seems to be showing good form. I saw him play really well. He didn’t have a good spring camp this year, but I think he’s a player who will do better next year if he has a good final training and spring camp after this year. I think there are a lot of things I felt this year, whether it’s Ju-hyung, (Kim) Whip, or (Kim) Dong-heon, but I hope they can do a better job of setting goals,” he said, cheering on the juniors who will lead the team in the future.
“They shouldn’t be satisfied with playing in the first team now,” said Lee, who emphasized, “I don’t want them to play baseball while looking at their peers. I want you to play baseball while comparing yourself to the best players in your position. Don’t be the best in your age group, be the best in Korean professional baseball,” he said, giving his juniors heartfelt advice.
Lee Jung-hoo said, “If you go to the major leagues, you have to work hard and do well. I will do my best to prepare well and show a good performance,” he said to himself, strengthening his resolve.