"You can change the flow even with defense." Why a former defensive coach openly praises the 39-year-old veteran's defense
Aug 04, 2024
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Kiwoom Heroes is a team with many young players. As a young team, he is energetic, but he is less experienced in solving the game. Veteran players like Lee Yong-kyu are filling up such shortcomings.
Lee Yong-kyu has been batting well in 58 games this season with a batting average of 311 (56 hits in 180 at-bats) with one home run, 12 RBIs and 27 points.
Not only in attack but also in defense, he still shows a bad performance.
On the 31st of last month, he encountered Dawson while trying to catch Kwon Hee-dong's ball against NC. Lee Yong-kyu fortunately ended up with a bruise, but Dawson is on the verge of being out of the season due to anterior cruciate ligament damage. It was an accident that occurred while trying to catch the ball.
The next day, on the 1st, Lee Yong-kyu, the NC match, still played hard to catch the ball. With a 10-9 lead in the top of the eighth inning with one out and a runner on the first base, he sprinted to catch Kim Hwi-jip's ball to the right-center field. If the ball had been missing, the game would have changed as it was tied 10-10, and it would have been difficult to predict the winning team. Lee Yong-kyu caught it and ended the inning, and Kiwoom added four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to win 14-9.
Lee Yong-kyu also showed a super play in which he jumped and caught Han Jun-su's ball to the fence in the top of the eighth inning, trailing 1-2 against Gocheok KIA on the 27th of last month. Since then, Kiwoom has scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to come from behind and gave three runs in the top of the ninth inning to allow a 5-5 tie, but Song Sung-moon's walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth inning eventually led to a come-from-behind victory. Coach Hong praised Lee Yong-kyu after the game, saying, `Lee Yong-kyu's good defense in the eighth inning awakened the will to win.'
Kiwoom manager Hong Won-ki said, `If Kim Hwi-jip's ball was missing, it would have had a big impact on the win and loss.' `There are many young players on our team, but we don't just play baseball with offense. You can change the flow with defense as much as you want."
Coach Hong often leaves comments on good defense when he speaks after winning. Coach Hong also spoke about Lee Yong-kyu's defense during the KIA match"Lee Yong-gyu becomes a model for many players. show by action rather than by words"
Lee Yong-kyu led his team to a 6-4 victory with 4 hits and 1 point in 5 at-bats against Doosan on the 2nd, and also contributed to the team's victory with 1 hit and 1 point in 3 at-bats on the 3rd.
In the hot July, he is showing a good batting average of 359 (14 hits in 39 times at bat) and a defense that raises the morale of his juniors. The veteran is pouring out what he has to show on the ground.
indyk@sportschosun.com
