'I won't give up until the end' Description Sliding → The reason why Lotte Cinema almost opened by 6 points is expected in the second half

Jul 05, 2024

photo courtesy of Lotte Giants

영상=Tving, KBSN스포츠 캡쳐

There was no giving up until the last minute.

The Lotte Giants' fielders were reorganized young this season. Among them, Yun Dong-hee is special.

Even before the season, Lotte manager Kim Tae-hyung picked it as the center of the batting line. Despite his poor performance early this season, he took the heavy responsibility of being a table setter. He never went down to the second team and played only in the first team.

Director Kim Tae-hyung's style is always to find more diverse options and better alternatives. However, in his eyes, Yoon Dong-hee was at least 'non-fungible' in Lotte's team.

The trust was a huge success. Yoon Dong-hee overcame the initial slump and exploded from May. He has been showing rapid growth this season with a batting average of 3202, five homers and 40 RBIs, and an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of 0.821. Not only home runs but also efforts to increase the number of doubles and increase slugging percentage and OPS are seen.

Even if you go out as a runner, every single play is unusual. Such was the case against the Doosan Bears in Jamsil on the 4th, when Lotte made a fierce chase at the last minute.

photo courtesy of Lotte Giants

At the start of the ninth inning, the score was 0-6. Closer Kim Taek-yeon stood on the mound of Doosan. It was worth giving up, but Lotte's batting line was on fire until the end.

Player hitter Choi Hang struck out, but Doosan catcher Yang Eui-ji missed the ball and got on base with a not-out foil. Jeon Min-jae's error came out when Information-geun grounded out to shortstop, and Hwang Sung-bin's walk was added to make the bases loaded with one out without a hit.

Yoon Dong-hee's timely hit to the middle field gave him one point. And with two outs, Reyes' exquisite two-run timely hit over the height of the shortstop made it 3-6.

photo courtesy of Lotte Giants

There was also a situation that almost ended in vain. Yoon Dong-hee, who was standing as a runner on second base with two outs and runners on first and second bases, was completely deprived of his timing to return to base. Perfect timing for commentator Jeon Joon-ho to shout out the moment Doosan shortstop Jeon Min-jae catches the ball. It was a catcher's check like Yang Eui-ji, a famous catcher.

But Yoon Dong-hee survived. The timing of the throw arriving at second base was overwhelming, but Yoon Dong-hee took out his right arm, which was sliding in at the moment, folded up like a scorpion and touched the base with his left arm and right foot. Even while throwing his whole body, his sense of controlling his body and his movement to see and avoid the opponent's tag were art.

It's not even the first time. It is a brilliant sense that Yoon Dong-hee showed several times this season to prove that she has raised her class to a higher level. He also stands out for his indomitable mental strength to seek the opponent's gap without giving up until the end.

photo courtesy of Lotte Giants

With the last two outs and the bases loaded, Oh Sun-jin ended up hitting a mistake, and Lotte Cinema's release failed unfortunately. However, the hot drama to be shown in the second half, maybe the beginning of the road to fall baseball, was the moment that was shown.

It is a season that once raised the winning margin from -14 to 7th place. It was the first half of the season that proved coach Kim Tae-hyung's eye for players. This is why we are looking forward to the second half of the year.